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If only politics were as certain as dear old granny
by Graeme J. Davidson

Originally appeared in The Dominion Post Religion and Ethics column 25 October 2008

....When I was a student my grandmother told me the only honest politicians were in the National Party, and as for the rest, it was like handing the country over to prison inmates, or worse, union leaders. When I told her I had friends in the Labour Party who were keen to spread the wealth more fairly, I received a stern letter: “That means government interference stifling free enterprise and economic growth”.
....Granny reminded me that Jesus had said, “The poor you’ll always have with you,” and added it was probably their own fault they were poor anyway. She said she was worried about the state of my soul as I was keeping bad company.
....In reply, I told Granny free enterprise fosters selfish greed and competition, which creates inequality and boom-bust economic cycles instead of the Christian virtues of sharing and cooperation through concern and love for others. Therefore, her true blue support of the free enterprise-loving National Party was anti-Christian.
.... That got the octogenarian going. She sent a list of the National members of Parliament who were Christians and told me how they gave to worthwhile causes. “Crumbs from the rich man’s table,” I retorted.
....Since then, the ideological differences between the two major parties in New Zealand have narrowed and the number of overt Christians in Parliament has dropped to about one in every eight MPs, which is hardly representative of the majority of us Kiwis who said we were Christian at the last census.
....At least you knew where you stood with Granny. The voting advice I’ve received from Kiwi churches over the years is wishy-washy in comparison. Don’t let election bribes like tax cuts sway you. Vote for politicians with integrity who’ll seek justice and do what is best for all of us, especially families and disadvantaged people both here and abroad.
....And these days no one dares quote the Bible where it says we are to subdue the earth for our own use: we are now its stewards who’ll care for the environment for future generations. That used to be the Greens’ exclusive call.
....Now every political party claims to have the nation’s future at heart and they all say they’re pro-family and concerned with the disadvantaged and the environment; they just disagree on priorities and methods. It would seem Christians can vote with a clear conscience for any party.
Even those moral issues that animate some churches – like abortion, alcohol consumption, gay relationships and smacking – are usually conscience votes for MPs regardless of their party affiliation.
....And politicians with integrity? National’s Deputy Leader, Bill English, was insightful: “Nothing beats winning in politics, despite all our highly principled statements. It’s fantastic … do what we need to do to win.” Which, translated, means: those in opposition can have integrity until there’s a good chance they become the government.
....National says it wants to abolish the Maori seats in Parliament with the settling of Treaty claims around 2014. In the 1860s, the seats were introduced to give Maori representation and to avoid Pakeha voters in some districts being overwhelmed by Maori voters. But is it fair to have some seats in Parliament based on the ethnic group that immigrated here first? Imagine if a white supremacist group insisted on seats based on European ancestry. It would rightly be seen as racist and contrary to our Human Rights Act, which forbids discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnic origins. Will National seek justice by sticking to this “highly principled statement”? Or will they shelve it in favour of “what we need to do to win” if they need the Maori Party to form a coalition government?
....ACT has a three-strike violent offender policy with life sentence for third time offenders, and National promises to keep second-time serious violent offenders behind bars without parole. This focuses unduly on violence when white-collar criminals also ruin lives. And it doesn’t give criminals serving long sentences much hope, even if they genuinely reform. And that isn’t Christian.
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Copyright ©2005
Graeme Davidson

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