Social Conscience

Up to now I have labelled myself as a writer with a social conscience as I want to highlight the social issues of the time that create a context within which a murder occurs. In my blogs however, I have never raised these issues, but I propose to do henceforth.   There are at least three significant issues running through the Glasgow Smile and for me to discuss this would ruin the enjoyment of your, the reader’s own discovery. So here is something different.

Currently, most of NZ is in shock at the devastation caused by cyclone Gabrielle….but what exactly are people in shock at?  That we had a cyclone, or that there was massive destruction or that there were tragic deaths.  None of these I can truly understand. We sit back in our safe middle-class houses and we see major weather events occur around the world all the time..so we know they exist, so what makes anyone think it will never ‘affect us.  We don’t have in built immunity or been given a pass ticket.

We have experienced major destruction, well that is what you get from such an event…and we have seen this in other less developed countries as well. Up to now NZ suffers from what I call geographical emotional distancing.  We have been on lookers of other weather disasters, of other people’s misfortune for far too long and we nod our heads, offer sympathy and count our blessings.  We need to realise that we are as vulnerable as the next nation regarding climate change, and we need to uphold a collective responsibility and response. The only difference between us and third world countries is that NZ Aotearoa can and will recover. We aren’t like Turkey and Syria with 35,000 or more dead, we don’t have corruption, we aren’t fighting a war or living terrible lives of under-development. We have reasonable governance, a social welfare system, insurance and education. We will recover and in doing so, will be all the better as a nation for it.  In my experience, disasters can offer us opportunities to do things differently and better and we must grab that offering with both hands.  Now.