Liz Gunn and Lisa Er took time this week to Korero about the state of the nation and the ways in which New Zealanders can educate ourselves about our country and our world.
(A korero is a conversation or a discussion.)
Sadly, the wider research on our country’s current poverty and homelessness, on our record suicide numbers, on the widening gap between the haves and the have nots, can have the sense of a litany of failures . There are many reasons to feel discouraged.
BYPASS MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Yet the freedoms offered by the internet, and online (and radio) discussion, can offer a way through this sense of overwhelm.
Lisa and Liz discuss the ways in which to become more informed and to find the courage to question the norms and the prevailing viewpoints often sold to us through media acolytes of the government viewpoint. From there, it’s rewarding to become actively involved - by each of us making our own contributions, in our own corners of this country we love. Liz talks of her work with the homeless on our streets and Lisa refers to the nurturing of a system of values as a bedrock for political and societal decision-making.
Perhaps the biggest issue coming in to the election is the need to find the passion to stand up and to speak out. Certainly that is the spirit in the studio when Lisa and Liz meet for their discussions.
ISSUES
One can see on social media much distress about the poverty in New Zealand, lack of housing, homelessness, and frustration about the state of our rivers and lakes. There are those who passionately want change, to cannabis laws, 1080 drops, fluoride in our water, and the banking system. Others want to ensure that our food is safe and labelled, and that genetic engineering is not let out into the environment. Education and health figure strongly in the list of concerns that people have. Some people concentrate on single issues and become experts, and others view the issues from a bigger picture.
However all of the above, and more, need to be included in the discussions we have, especially before the elections. Unfortunately the mainstream media tends to focus on leaders and not on policy so some people feel disinclined to vote.
Corruption is another issue that people find hard to accept but as Nicky Hager show us in his two latest books, “Dirty Politics”, and “Hit and Run”, we need to be very awake and aware.
HOPE
Both Liz and Lisa hope that joining in with this korero - through your own listenership - will nurture passion in each valued listener, and bring the simmering fire in your belly to life in a burning blaze of thoughtful discussion on the main aspects of New Zealand life that need to be improved . Such outspokenness will lend an urgency to pre-election build-up, and may even inspire our families -and especially our young - to sign up as voters, and speak up as Kiwis.
Links
UNICEF report: New Zealand 34th out of 41 developed countries for child well being”
“No lunches for poor children”
This programme is sponsored by The Awareness Party