Every three years, it happens, and here we are again: Groundhog Day.
With only minor changes, it's the same every time. Those hungry to get into the country's driving seat attempt to bribe people into voting for them with promises they probably won't keep; they paint their opponents as the devil incarnate; and consider outright lies as no more than a justified means to an end. It's the same every time; an episode of a predictable soap opera with dialogue that is less believable each time we hear it. And yet, those same politicians feign surprise and horror at the number of people who decide not to participate in this inane ritual.
What the rest of us witness every three years is a bunch of children arguing over who should drive the NZ bus. All of them claim to be the better driver, but no one will stop arguing long enough to talk about where the bus is supposed to be going. Those of us who are riding the NZ bus just want to see it traveling the expected direction. We don't want it driven off a cliff or into a ditch. We don't want half the passengers chucked off the bus simply because they don't have the fare, and we don't want to have to get out and push the bus because some pea-brain politician didn't think that filling the tank was important. It doesn't seem like a lot to ask.
And yet presumably it must be, because it is not what we get. The potential drivers are again arguing with each other about who is going to drive, while refusing to discuss the destination. The problem isn't about who drives; it's about where the bus is going, and each potential driver has a hidden agenda. One driver wants to go back to where times were 'better'; one wants to visit their rich relatives and jettison any undesirables on the way; another wants to go to the scrapyard and cut the bus into enough pieces so that everyone gets a fair share and can do what they like with their bit of the bus; yet another thinks the bus would make a fine home if only we took the wheels off and stood it up on some bricks. All the drivers have hidden agendas that they can't admit to, so they argue about who should drive and hope that it gets to be them so that they can attempt to take us where they want for the next three years.
Guys, THE DRIVERS ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE THE PASSENGERS.
So, how about a grown-up discussion about where the passengers want to go, and then let us choose which driver(s) might best get us there? Is there even a driver who wants that discussion? Maybe there is, but most don't want a bar of it; some refuse to even travel on the bus unless they or one of their mates is driving. Quite frankly, if we keep electing these self-serving drivers, everything is going to continue to go downhill. Insanity, it is said, is to keep doing the same thing while expecting a different outcome.
It's time to ditch the insanity. Perhaps we could start by voting for a driver who wants what's best for everyone on the bus. Now, that would be a novel idea.
PS. Enrollments to vote close tonight. I just met someone on the street who was looking for where they could enroll. On a Sunday, the last day. Just get your papers in a post box. NOW.
