Monday, May 30, 2011

Extreme - yes

This word extreme is a strange one. On the one hand New Zealanders seem to embrace the idea of extreme activities or extreme sports or extreme fun. Extreme branding brings adventure tourists to our shores. Imagine what bland bungying, safe snowboarding, moderate mountain climbing, or pedestrian paragliding would do for us.

Yet when it comes to politics the connotations are negative.

Perhaps instead of fruitlessly trying to point out that Don Brash' ideas are NOT extreme it would be better to go with it. Yes. ACT the extreme party. You want extremism in your sport, in your leisure time, why not in your real life? Too chicken to try it?

Just what this country needs. A bloody good dose of extremism. The yellow bellies can stick to National or Labour. All those types who are scared of their own shadow, the risk aversionists, the can't-even-hold-a-candle-to-a-hobbit mob. Shame on them.

Brash is the choice for rugged individualists - now a rare breed in dire need of revival.

7 comments:

Manolo said...

Amen!

Paul Goodsort said...

The country is full of softies who hold on to their rugby team as some false reflection of their own masculinity and drive. Voters know what they don’t want “We need to get rid of PC Helen and her mob” but don’t actually want to see polices that will keep this country in the second world. Totally selfish, dooming our kids to the scrapheap. Great post.

John Ansell said...

Yes, Key's attack strategy certainly warrants a reply in the fullness of time, Lindsay. By the end of it, he may be wishing he hadn't adopted that line.

pdm said...

"Brash is the choice for rugged individualists - now a rare breed in dire need of revival".

I think you have something there Lindsay - well worth fostering.

Lou Taylor said...

Great post lindsay

James said...

Expand it and add to your list of Herald pieces Lindsay. ;-)


(ps....anyone else noticed her getting a bit grumpier lately?)

;-)

Anonymous said...

Just what this country needs. A bloody good dose of extremism

Ruth (and OK, a bit of Roger) set this country on the right road - and now everything has been undone by Hellen, by Shipley, and now by Key - just today, the DomPost is describing the UFB rollout as renationalisation of Telecom!!

But why should we be surprised: NZRail, PostBank, AirNZ, Govt Supply Board (sorry "centralised purchasing"), not to mention the benefit cuts, the university fees that people actually had to pay, the Work for the Dole, and on and on and on - yes even the floating Kiwi dollar is now "managed" by Bollard and English! -
everything that was done by Ruth and Roger has now been undone

NZ's financial position is now worse than it has ever been. The banks just downgraded last week. The debt only looks as small as 120% of GDP because it is priced at close to the all-time high NZ dollar.

Once the dollar returns to a long-run average - the debt and deficit aren't 120% and 25% but 300% plus and 50% plus.

And when that happens, there's no way we can pretend we're not one of the PIIGS.

NZ doesn't need "a dose of extremism" now and then.

Without this "extremism" NZ simply will not survive.