Letters to the Editor

Controlled by fear

20 Sep, 2021

‘So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is... fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance’. The words of Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933, and when related to the situation in New Zealand today, it would be a fairly accurate assessment of the calamity that confronts us.

Listening to business leaders on the TV news today when confronted with the lockdown, the main theme seemed to be lying down and acceptance of the orders of the government. ‘Disappointment’ and ‘frustration’ are hardly the words I would expect to come from management who are about to see their livelihood, and that of many others, go down the gurgler! Business leaders must take the lead and get this country back to work.

Everybody blames Covid for their inability to operate but Covid is not to blame as daffodils can be picked, skiers can ski, bread can be baked and so on. The government has dictated for everything to shut down based on what Franklin D Roosevelt said so long ago that instilling fear in the population is the main tool of control in a socialist regime. That is not what should happen in a democracy.

The cost to the country for this foolhardy action is enormous and will not be recovered in generations to come unless we get back to work immediately and look at this current problem with logic and common sense. Remember that the politicians who are forcing the situation on you are being paid in full without fear for their jobs unless you make a stand in an orderly and forceful manner.

Wake up New Zealand.

Peter Matheson
Maungaturoto

Freedom from lockdown

20 Sep, 2021

Today (Sept 8), the first day of level 2, I find myself remembering what an old friend once said to me. I was reading about Peter Blake at the time and I said to her what an amazing life he had. He did so much. She said he did a lot of sailing, but that is mostly what he did. You get to do some sailing, but you also get to do some motorcycle riding and to spend lots of time with your family and friends. You don’t get to indulge one thing completely, but you get to do a whole lot of things a little bit.

She was right, I think. I think we ‘average’ people do get to enjoy more of this life than so many of the celebrities we hold up so high. We have more freedom, and today we get to remember it. But I also find myself thinking quietly, should the government really have the right to take it away? This government is nice, anyone would agree, and their reasons are coming from a good place, but what if the next one is not, and their reasons are less good? I hope in the quieter time ahead that there is at least a healthy discussion around how and when and for what reasons lockdowns can be imposed.

Jason Wilson
Mangawhai Heads