I'm not a huge fan of Jacinda Ardern, and in fact I've criticised her government with absolute candour over things like the Christchurch Call. So I was expecting to do a lot of scoffing, snorting and rolling my eyes when I listening to her interview with The Rest is Politics;
I was rather surprised when it brought me to tears. More than once.
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Particularly when she recounted, with palpable emotion, what her 5 year old daughter said when she stepped down as PM; "But Mummy, we should never give up."
For one thing, would that we all had that kind of courage as adults, let alone at that tender age. But also, it made me think about how much I respected my father's work as a trade unionist, and wonder how my own daughter sees my work.
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Neve Ardern Gayford, quoted by me yesterday:
> "But Mummy, we should never give up."
This post got a lot of love, and every time I see it my notifications I tear up again. I want that quote on a t-shirt! I'm going to write it on the biggest bit of paper I can find and put it up above my workspace.
Because Neve is right. We must never give up. Her generation - my granddaughter included - are relying on us to give them a life at least as good as ours, and ideally as good as Boomers had.
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There's an old saying along the lines of;
The continuity of civilization is assured when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.
I, for one, do not intend to let my granddaughter's generation down. I will not let the world burn, and if I have to throw myself bodily on the flames to snuff them out, so be it.
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Ardern also makes some insightful points about people's motivations when we cast a vote. The basic theory of elections says it means 'this is who I want to be in charge'. But in practice, Like a Boost, a vote is not always an endorsement.
In a 2 party system, a vote often means; I dislike this bunch less than the other bunch. In a proportional system it can mean; given the likely outcome, having this bunch in the mix will mitigate the harm they all do, more so than any other bunch.
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