Reality, media, politics, citizens and Nandor

One of the most unfairly maligned groups in New Zealand received some rare support yesterday.

In his valedictory speech, out-going Green Party MP, Nandor Tanczos, shared his view (NZ Herald, June 27th) of Members of Parliament after his 9 years in the House:

"I came to Parliament thinking you're all a bunch of bastards," he told his colleagues.

"And I was wrong. There are many good people here. The very notion that all politicians are dishonest is misconceived."

Anyone who has actually spent much time around Parliament or been an active member of a political party, knows this. Anyone who has ever got out of their house and gone to work constructively with other people in the community to achieve a goal or provide a service, knows this. Anyone who understands from personal experience that politics is about finding ways to do things by bringing people along, knows this.

At the same time, politicians do, too often, resort to petty behaviour that none of us respect. Nandor again:

Mr Tanczos revealed he had avoided question time whenever he could.

"It's a time when I'm most ashamed of being a member of Parliament," he said.

"You all know what I'm talking about."

That was a reference to the abusive shouting and bad behaviour that go on during question time.

"We should grow up," he said.

"This is our national legislature. We should treat it and the positions we hold with more respect."

The media are often shameful in unfairly denigrating all politicians due to the behaviour of some small number of them. Too often stories about politics are "framed" in adversarial terms and focus on conflict instead of substance, leaders instead of policy.

Nandor again:

"The buzzards who sit watching us up there, waiting for the next political corpse to pick over ... They will always report a fight, but stand to talk about anything real and most of them flap their wings and fly away."

Most politicians are good people trying to do what they think is right for the people who voted for them (and the tiny groups with deep pockets - unions or business or some other - who donated money to them). They aren't wrong in doing that.

It's our job as voters and citizens to pay attention and understand who is supporting who and what their agendas are. I've learned more about who is connected to whom in three months of reading blogs and checking references made there, than I have in years of reading newspapers or watching TV news.

We need to demand to know what our politicians plan to do and expect that it is what they will actually do. It is a disgrace to democracy that polls indicate 50% of us support a party that has told us almost little or nothing about their detailed plans and policies in ANY area. Those who are paying attention are rightly annoyed by the lazy negligence of those who can't be or they would not blindly lend support to any party in a policy vacuum.

We may be able to hold politicians to account, but unfortunately there is no way to hold other voters to account.

The media have a role to play, but we all need to understand the commercial imperatives driving media to sell a product people will buy. The media know how to "push the buttons" many of us will respond to and make us watch their show or buy their product. But we should never confuse their interests with our own.

Media can't be blindly trusted any more than any other person or group can be. The daily print media, in particular, are the least accountable of all as they typically have a monopoly in the city they operate in. You either buy their newspaper for local news or you don't buy one at all and you know nothing.

In contrast, politicians in political parties under MMP must compete everywhere for every vote in the open market of ideas and values. They are accountable every day under MMP in ways hey were not under the old system.

We need to be more skeptical and learn to not respond to our buttons being pushed by anyone, including media and politicians. At the same time, skepticism allied with ignorance isn't sustainable. You can't be skeptical of everything while knowing nothing. You have to know something and learn more every day. We have to pay attention and learn how the institutions around us work.

For our own good we need to be curious. More curious than most of us appear to be. Those billions spent every year on our half belong to us. It is madness to pay little or no attention and then blame others for the inevitable consequences of our own negligence.

We need to learn to wait until all the evidence is in before leaping to the conclusions on offer by self-interested or misguided persons. We need to demand that evidence and refuse to take no for an answer. We need to make the time in our lives to do this in order to allow us to protect our own and our family's and our community's and our country's interests. If each of us picks ONE thing about which we can be a terrier who won't let go, we will all have each other's backs and be better off.

Otherwise we all pay the price for not doing it.

Nandor again:

Mr Tanczos said he believed most MPs came to Parliament with honest intentions, but many were compromised by it.

"How many times have Green MPs spoken in this House and had other MPs sidle over and tell us quietly, 'We agree with you'?" he said.

In the context of needing to be inside any system in order to change it, Nandor said:

"The danger is the system changes us as much as we change the system, if not more.

"And that's why I'm leaving. The problem isn't how many people enter this place with honest intentions, but how many leave with them intact."

Yes.

As for media monopolies, we have to look at breaking them up and restoring something more closely resembling diversity of opinion than we see today. I'm tired of the "received wisdom" that can't be challenged and the self-serving selective narratives I can't return to sender.

Thank you, Nandor for being 'real' and for your years of service and personal sacrifice on our behalf, whether we voted for you or not. Thank you for the rare glimpse of truth about the politicians we elect to represent us and the media who could do much better than push our buttons for profit, but too often don't.