Aotearoa: Vox Populi

NEW ZEALAND

AOTEAROA

The LAND of the LONG WHITE CLOUD

God of Nations, at Thy feet,

In the bonds of love we meet,

Hear our Voices we entreat,

God defend our Free Land. 

[National Anthem, Thomas Bracken.]

E Ihoa Atua,
O ngā iwi mātou rā,
āta whakarongona;
Me aroha noa.
Kia hua ko te pai;
Kia tau tō atawhai;
Manaakitia mai
Aotearoa.   

[Maori National Athem] 

 

Tena kotau, tena kotau, tena kotau katoa.

I love this country, these two lush and beautiful islands nestled in the south of the Pacific Ocean, the grandest body of water on this Earth. I have lived here all my life, and have come to appreciate this nation. Our country is non-violent, non-agressive and community oriented. We are small and out of the way, and thus we are a microcosmic society in this world. In our country we are largely safe from the threat of violent crime, internally and externally, altough domestic violence is on the rise.

Though we are by and large secure in New Zealand, this is one shameful aspect of our society that goes to show we are far from perfect. Perfection is a human ideal not yet realized nor widely contemplated in modern times. Yet we are poised to work to realize the ideal of society whereby all work together for their own proserity, which creates abundance for all thereby. And if the capitalist economic myth of scarcity (namely that the first world countries don't have enough goods in supply) can be negated anywhere, this is the place. We have abundance and we have prosperity, let's not waste it!

We are blessed to call this land home. And should we come to realize that we can't neccessarily fix the world, but that we can certainly fix ourselves, then through this realization our Voice will be found. Historically, we have used our vox populi, and to great effect. We always cite our action against the nuclear vessels of the imperial U.S. and that we were the first country to achieve universal suffrage in 1893. And we certainly made a stand against the then-apartheid state of South Africa in the Springbok Tour of 1981. To express our Will, as a people united, is in our blood. We are a people of highly diverse descent, but we are all united in the common bond of Man through this proud, however short, history.

We need to realize that we can no longer abide by the kiwi attitude of  "She'll be right mate!" and be fooled by certain parties in our government because of our laziness. Complacency is a sign of gluttony through satisfaction. We have much, so we have much to lose. We also, through concerted effort, have much to gain. "She", our beloved sea borne country, will not neccessarily be right. We need motivation and drive to stand up for our rights, even ones in this postmodern, industrialist Information Age, that we didn't know we had or needed yet.

There needs to be more discussion in society, and a higher perception of everyday kiwis to the situation offshore, and how it can affect us. As the world struggles to find more resources, with the U.S. paving the way to bow down to the even more imperial China, our beautiful land could become a pot of gold for the rest of the world. We have to realize that we are not by neccessity safe and secluded, but rather a part of the greater whole, and therefore subject to global tyranny and despotism.

I am simply One Voice.
I speak because I can. And because true Voice moves mountains.

K. T. Eye
Ka-Tenemi-Ihy