Ode to the Past

"Skepticism, riddling the faith of yesterday, prepared the way for the faith of tomorrow."            Romain Rolland. A long time ago in the year 200 BPC (Before Political Correctness), man was an idealist who believed that honesty and commonsense was the only way to survive.  Then one day he awoke in a small country called New Zealand and found that honesty and commonsense had been made redundant.  Henceforth and from that day on, man found life confusing.  Gone were the values that stood him in good stead for thousands of years.  The ideals that had kept him on the straight and narrow were illegal and political corruption shone instead of integrity.  The sun that had provided all sustenance on earth had been declared a health hazzard and people were forbidden to discuss the freedoms of choice that had made endless societies viable. The law stated that thinking independently was iniquitous and one had to think in the manner prescribed by the politicians feathering their own nests.  They were aided by increasing numbers of non thinking 'yes' men whose wages were paid by taxing the people who still believed in honesty and decency.  No one had given the politicians permission to tax anybody for anything but when grasping people create laws.  They tend to put themselves first.  Thus, not obeying the illegal laws was a crime punishable by heavy fines or imprisonment.  It was the start of the downfall of New Zealand's sunshine democracy.  For old-fashioned democracy gave people a choice in how they ran their lives but the new laws dictated that politicians were the only group that were intelligent.  What they wanted of course, was total obedience from those who had previously thought for themselves. Sadly the bulk of the population was lulled into a false sense of security and believed absolutely anything the politicians conveyed.  It was on the TV.  Therefore, it must be true. This became the accepted thing in a society blinded by political illusions.  Christened the Jackass Mentality, they laughed at those who cited that history was the best teacher and current political fads would inevitably fail.  They subjected themselves to mindless restrictions on income, lifestyle and allowed the arrogant to rule unopposed.  Thus, New Zealand turned itself into a dictatorship.  Do and think as you're told, or else! Inevitably the thinkers departed for distant shores and now 20% of Kiwis live outside New Zealand.  This created a labour shortage and the politicians decided to coax the expatriates to return.  But will the promises of a sunless home outweigh the advantages of higher wages, lower taxes and a more agreeable lifestyle in foreign climes? The expatriates have to consider reality, one of the world's highest interest rates and the mindless bureaucracy against their freedom of choice to live in the manner they deem acceptable.  In the meantime political rhetoric continues.  It's election year and the arrogant rulers need the vote of the Jackass Mentality.  They can afford to ignore minorities and have gone out of their way to tread on those who demand that government works for the equal benefit of all.   Naturally this will not happen.  Democracy is no longer convenient.  It impedes the free flow of political arrogance.  Democracy allows thinkers to express their opinions on alternative media outlets such as the internet.  Ouch! One day the internet will be controlled by those who stand to benefit from lack of effective opposition.  They'll tax it, censor it and dream up endless ways to destroy those possessing electronic initiative. I don't know why they bother.  Why don't they simply outlaw democracy?  Franco, Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini had it down to a fine art.  After all, in a dictatorial democracy, they can do anything they like.  And they will.  But have a look at history and count the number of dictatorships that have survived the test of time.  At the end of the day, honesty and commonsense always wins. If you are still able to think for yourself.  Write your own future  while you've still got the chance.