In the Weekend Herald, John Roughan attempts to justify the moral imperative to lie to voters about policy because they would not support you if they knew what your policies are. Mr. Roughan says if you don't accept this, you're naive.
The logic is repulsive. It's OK to deceive voters if you're sure you're right. There is arrogance, contempt and utter disregard for democracy in any mind that thinks this way. Apparently, this is how John Roughan thinks. He supports the National Party behaving the same way. If people knew what they planned to do, they wouldn't vote for National. So that makes it OK to mislead, dissemble, conceal....lie.
We live in a democracy, Mr. Roughan. That means we have every right to expect and demand that any and all politicians will inform us of their intentions prior to voting for them or we will not vote them if we have any sense.
The National Party and Mr. Roughan are both betting we have no sense. Anyone who votes for National without knowing what their policies are proves them right.
There is irony in voting for a National Party that holds you in contempt, refusing to share its plans with you....betting you're stupid enough to vote for them anyway. In fact, planning on it.
The only moral imperative I see is for any and all political parties to front up with their policies so voters have the opportunity to cast an informed vote.
No matter how much you don't like Labour, if the National party won't tell people what their policies are, you're a mug if you vote for them.
Open Mike 17/07/25
2 hours ago
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteAs I suspected the neoliberals in the National Party are adherents of the moral philosophy of Leo Strauss, the father of the neoconservative movement in the United States.
"A second fundamental belief of Strauss’s ancients has to do with their insistence on the need for secrecy and the necessity of lies. In his book Persecution and the Art of Writing, Strauss outlines why secrecy is necessary. He argues that the wise must conceal their views for two reasons – to spare the people’s feelings and to protect the elite from possible reprisals."
I had my suspicions when I read Nicky Hager's Hollow Men and now I'm even more convinced.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5010.htm