By Olivia Pierson
http://www.oliviapierson.org/b...
Chris Trotter’s latest piece for Incite, Fixing What’s been Broken, raised an important point which has also been occupying my own mind in the last few weeks. Chris wrote:
An effective defence of liberal democratic values requires at least one of two crucial qualities. The first is gravitas. A leader able to project wisdom and serious intent is an invaluable asset to any conservative party. If that same leader is also able to convey a sense of hidden strength – menace even – then so much the better. Is National’s current leader in possession of either of these qualities? Does Simon Bridges possess gravitas and/or menace? Not really, but then, does anyone in the present National caucus possess them?
Obviously, the answer is a resounding “no.” The entire National caucus is devoid of any members possessing gravitas and/or menace. Another word for menace might be ‘aggressiveness’. Defending a democracy from the insidious freedom-crushers, who are currently seeking to restrict freedom of expression in a frankly totalitarian way, requires an opposition leader to fight back with full-throated, aggressive conviction. Alas, there is no such opposition leader, not even among the minor right-wing parties, such as ACT or even the New Conservatives. The elusive One New Zealand Party doesn’t even have an operational website.
In his article, Trotter goes on to pose an important question in light of an Islamic blessing being included in the Anzac Day commemorations at the Titahi Bay service, a day that Trotter points out is our “secular nation’s sole remaining ‘holy’ day”:
...has the official reaction to the Christchurch mosque shootings caused something to break in the political fidelity of those New Zealanders not invited to signal their virtue on Wallace Chapman’s ‘The Panel’, or Jessie Mulligan’s ‘The Project’?
Something broke alright. The rage and backlash against the Anzac debacle on social media shows that Kiwis recognise when a government is using a monstrous tragedy for the purpose of normalising Islam in our country.
Our ANZACS answered the call to go and fight in the name of God, King and Country, not Allah, Caliph and Ummah. For a secular nation to offer up prayers to a Christian God is entirely fitting with our Christian heritage. To be offering them up to the god of Islam on Anzac Day is nothing short of weird and, when one also factors in the modern context of commonplace jihadist attacks on old Christendom that have now become a major problem in Europe, it is nothing short of bloody sinister.
I’ve been saying for some time now that the minor right-wing parties need to consolidate amongst themselves on the single policy platform of freedom of speech being inviolate, and thus offer a real voting alternative to conservatives who are now hopelessly underwhelmed by National’s lack of “gravitas and menace”.
However, a brave leader of such a coalition must be entirely comfortable with having highly weaponised terms such as racist, xenophobe and most assuredly Islamophobe being slung at him/her every minute of every day, because that is the mind-numbingly vicious reality of how the Left fights. Such terms are used only to short-circuit any discussion of ideas which pertain to 'one law for all', immigration, increased refugee quotas and Islam making its presence felt where it is neither wanted (by most Kiwis), nor warranted – like Anzac Day.
The most important virtue in this fight is courage; it also happens to be the most rare.
