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Political Activism

My Thoughts on Politics, The Rights & Freedom of all People

 

Those of us who engage in trying to make the world a better place for all people and living things, often come to realise that everyone is political, the action of doing nothing contributes to keeping things as they are. So by doing nothing, you are in fact doing something. You can support a change or oppose it, but by doing nothing you probably help to keep something as it is.

 

Many people have different views & feelings on a variety of issues. Often these views are picked up from the family or community that we were raised in. People may have strong opinions on something because their religion teaches them to think a certain way. Various work may push people to see the world and politics in a certain way.

 

I have heard people say that they don’t care for politics. I assume they are meaning who the leader is and the decisions they make. Politics to me has always meant a lot more than that. Politics is about elections but it is so much more than that: Will governments push for reductions in global warming? Will the third world get debt relief? Will governments give other aid or assistance to the third world? Will a country get invaded because we want cheaper oil? How many soldiers will die because we have such a war? Will we train people in terrorism (Osama bin Laden) who later become terrorists? Will we sell weapons to other countries to make money? Will we support leaders who restrict the rights of their people but who support companies from our nations operating freely without unions or safeguards for workers health? How many poor people will die in the world today (including in prosperous nations) because the leaders of the world have not provided acceptable levels of nutrition & medicine to those in need? When will we see the next Holocaust, Killing Field or Rwanda because world leaders lacked strength to intervene. This is all politics. All this is political and we all have a duty as humans to try & get these things right.

 

Having just listed some of the vexing issues of our time, it is understandable that many people can’t be bothered: some people feel hopeless or frustrated and then many are completely confused about what’s going on. Basically lots of the problems in the world look really hopeless or people feel powerless so often end up just feeling a great deal of despair.

 

When something really ires people though, like the decision by leaders in the US to go to war in Iraq, its great to see the way the world can rise up to express their views.
 
Read more about my analysis of the current world situation & what needs to happen to resolve the challenges of today.

Resolving Critical World Problems

Issues that I have been active in

I became involved in environmental issues at school. We had an ecology group, which showed movies to the public, we also ran a recycling scheme for 1200 local homes. I joined in campaigns to save native bush from logging such as Okarito and I was also involved in campaigns to stop whaling & sealing.

By my last year at high school I started to think about student politics and our rights to be able to speak up on issues that concerned us.

In 1981 I started University at Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ. It was the year of the South African Springbok rugby tour of NZ. Muldoon was the PM at this time and did all he could to allow the tour to continue despite a large section of the population taking to the streets to stop the tour. Apartheid was still the undemocratic system in place in South Africa so most people who place human rights as a priority above their enjoyment of sport, saw it as their duty to stop the tour. Major protests occurred at all the games & tests and over a thousand people were arrested in these protests including myself. We saw it as our duty to fellow humans. Those of us who protested can be proud that we helped to chip away at the apartheid system.

 

Muldoon was also embarking on a major capital expenditure in 1981 called ‘Think Big’, something that would ultimately bring great trauma to the NZ economy by getting the government in serious debt, which then required the government of the late 80s to sell off as many income earning assets(banks, electricity etc) to pay this debt. One of these projects was to be a second aluminium smelter for NZ to be located at Aramoana near Dunedin. A huge campaign was launched & we successfully stopped

the smelter from being built. As part of this work I became leader of the Environment Group at University.

 

In 1983 & 1984 I served as the Public Affairs Officer with the University of Canterbury Students Association. This was a great role to hold while completing my BA majoring in Sociology & political Science. It involved being involved in many issues from anti racism work, promoting Maori language, campaigning for immigration reform, anti nuclear campaigns, supporting student rights in other countries, student welfare campaigns. There was always a poster to put up, stall to run, meeting to attend or organise, article to write for the newspaper etc. it was great to be connecting & working with lots of other concerned people.

 

There was a downside too as universities started to become more conservative and some activists were in political cliques. I was elected to be the General Vice President of NZUSA (New Zealand University Students Association) for 1985 despite efforts from members of the WCL (Workers Communist League) to stop me. I had never been against them but they only wanted one of them in that role. Interestingly none of them were standing for the position but they still tried to stop me. Before the end of 1984 I thought that maybe such a role was not in my best interests when a lot of these people were probably going to try & make things hard for me rather than supporting me. I have always been non-aligned. While it doesn’t get you as close to those in a group, it still gives you some scope to mix with a larger circle. I have also never subscribed to an ideology in its entirety and don’t like feeling compelled to tote the party line. Even though I was a bit of an extremist in my efforts back then and my condemning anyone who didn’t support what I supported (is it the certainty of youth or the selling out of later years vs. wisdom!) I can see that I was more reasonable then than others. I resigned from the role explaining why and this was seized upon by right wing students to justify cut backs in NZUSA. I have always regretted that happening but also realise that had members of the WCL been more inclusive, none of this would have happened.

 

I completed my BA in 1984 & 1985 was my first year away from University. I continued to be involved in various campaigns but the new one that was big for me was gay & lesbian law reform. There is never an easy way to deal with being gay, but for me, as an activist was something that I was used to doing so where as many others in the campaign had little experience I did. I was also able to be a buffer with all the people who I had worked with on other issues and for me & Christchurch we were part of a nationwide march on September 13 1985 where about 2000 people marched for law reform. A Previous rally in 1981 had attracted 150 so this was a great achievement in social recognition & change. A clever group emerged during this campaign called hug (heterosexuals unafraid of gays).

 

I moved to Sydney three days after this march and have pretty much lived there since. My involvement in politics has changed over the years. Work tends to reduce energy to march but one thing about Sydney with so many people was that people specialised on an issue or two. I was used to having my finger in many pies and didn’t really want to stick to one issue. I became more of an observer than activist. I also decided to do what I wanted rather than being pressured by others. Time skips along faster as we age too. I also think we evaluate our actions and those of others & don’t just jump because someone tells us too. We need to examine what is right for us, what is most important for us to campaign around and what method of action works best for us. At university I thought a street march the ultimate action, but it isn’t unless it gets noticed and even then it is ineffective in some ways if it doesn’t bring about change.

 

In 1996 I spoke at a march against French Nuclear testing. It was the biggest gathering I had spoken at with about 35,000 people in attendance. Having come from NZ I thought it would be good to speak about what NZ was doing against nuclear weapons and the need for Australia to take a similar stand.

 

What is political is another issue for reflection. A conventional activist is often clear but having moved in various circles, we come to realise that some changes in the world come about through breaking down barriers through making friends. That may bring as much improvement to the world as going on a march. Starting a group in 1990 for Jews & non Jews in the gay community was largely social but it was a form of breaking down barriers. Kitty Fischer attended meetings & having survived Auschwitz due to a gay prisoner accessing a better supply of potatoes (because he wasn’t Jewish) meant that she and her sister stayed alive. It also meant that as a Jew she had a strong commitment to the rights of gay people, something that not all other members of the Sydney Jewish community shared. She had a lot of courage, which she passed onto the group. The group wasn’t political or was it?

 

The internet has changed a lot about  how we act in the world and what we know is going on, how people are organising to change things, and also what are the issues that matter to people. Different events cause people to see things from different perspectives. For example the recent cartoon controversy can be seen as a slight against a persecuted religion and also as an issue of censorship/freedom. Mainstream Islam can be seen as liberation for some on an economic poverty issue level & also as a repression of gender & sexuality liberation for many. People can be working for the advancement of some issues and against the advancement of others. Sometimes it comes down to our perspective of the world and what will make it a better place and what are the issues that need fighting for.

See my PGC website to see the issues that I consider priorities and how the entertainment industry is making the world a better place and further activities that if engaged in will move the world forward in a good way.

I became involved in environmental issues at school. We had an ecology group, which showed movies to the public, we also ran a recycling scheme for 1200 local homes. I joined in campaigns to save native bush from logging such as Okarito and I was also involved in campaigns to stop whaling & sealing.

By my last year at high school I started to think about student politics and our rights to be able to speak up on issues that concerned us.

In 1981 I started university at Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ. It was the year of the South African Springbok rugby tour of NZ. Muldoon was the PM at this time and did all he could to allow the tour to continue despite a large section of the population taking to the streets to stop the tour. Apartheid was still the undemocratic system in place in south Africa so most people who places human rights as a priority above their enjoyment of sport, saw it as their duty to stop the tour. Major protests occurred at all the games & tests and over a thousand people were arrested in these protests including myself. We saw it as our duty to fellow humans. Those of us who protested can be proud that we helped to chip away at the apartheid system.

 

Muldoon was also embarking on a major capital expenditure in 1981 called ‘Think Big’, something that would ultimately bring great trauma to the NZ economy by getting the government in serious debt, which then required the government of the late 80s to sell off as many income earning assets(banks, electricity etc) to pay this debt. One of these projects was to be a second aluminium smelter for NZ to be located at Aramoana near Dunedin. A huge campaign was launched & we successfully stopped

the smelter from being built. As part of this work I became leader of the Environment Group at University.

 

In 1983 & 1984 I served as the Public Affairs Officer with the University of Canterbury Students Association. This was a great role to hold while completing my BA majoring in Sociology & political Science. It involved being involved in many issues from anti racism work, promoting Maori language, campaigning for immigration reform, anti nuclear campaigns, supporting student rights in other countries, student welfare campaigns. There was always a poster to put up, stall to run, meeting to attend or organise, article to write for the newspaper etc. it was great to be connecting & working with lots of other concerned people.

 

There was a downside too as universities started to become more conservative and some activists were in political cliques. I was elected to be the General Vice President of NZUSA (New Zealand University Students Association) for 1985 despite efforts from members of the WCL (workers communist league) to stop me. I had never been against them but they only wanted one of them in that role. Interestingly none of them were standing for the position but they still tried to stop me. Before the end of 1984 I thought that maybe such a role was not in my best interests when a lot of these people were probably going to try & make things hard for me rather than supporting me. I have always been non-aligned. While it doesn’t get you as close to those in a group, it still gives you some scope to mix with a larger circle. I have also never subscribed to an ideology in its entirety and don’t like feeling compelled to tote the party line. Even though I was a bit of an extremist in my efforts back then and my condemning anyone who didn’t support what I supported (is it the certainty of youth or the selling out of later years vs. wisdom!) I can see that I was more reasonable then than others. I resigned from the role explaining why and this was seized upon by right wing students to justify cut backs in NZUSA. I have always regretted that happening but also realise that had members of the WCL been more inclusive, none of this would have happened.

 

I completed my BA in 1984 & 1985 was my first year away from University. I continued to be involved in various campaigns but the new one that was big for me was gay & lesbian law reform. There is never an easy way to deal with being gay, but for me, as an activist was something that I was used to doing so where as many others in the campaign had little experience I did. I was also able to be a buffer with all the people who I had worked with on other issues and for me & Christchurch we were part of a nationwide march on September 13 1985 where about 2000 people marched for law reform. A Previous rally in 1981 had attracted 150 so this was a great achievement in social recognition & change. A clever group emerged during this campaign called hug (heterosexuals unafraid of gays).

 

I moved to Sydney three days after this march and have pretty much lived there since. My involvement in politics has changed over the years. Work tends to reduce energy to march but one thing about Sydney with so many people was that people specialised on an issue or two. I was used to having my finger in many pies and didn’t really want to stick to one issue. I became more of an observer than activist. I also decided to do what I wanted rather than being pressured by others. Time skips along faster as we age too. I also think we evaluate our actions and those of others & don’t just jump because someone tells us too. We need to examine what is right for us, what is most important for us to campaign around and what method of action works best for us. At university I thought a street march the ultimate action, but it isn’t unless it gets noticed and even then it is ineffective in some ways if it doesn’t bring about change.

 

In 1996 I spoke at a march against French Nuclear testing. It was the biggest gathering I had spoken at with about 25,000 people in attendance. Having come from NZ I thought it would be good to speak about what NZ was doing against nuclear weapons and the need for Australia to take a similar stand.

 

What is political is another issue for reflection. A conventional activist is often clear but having moved in various circles, we come to realise that some changes in the world come about through breaking down barriers through making friends. That may bring as much improvement to the world as going on a march. Starting a group in 1990 for Jews & non Jews in the gay community was largely social but it was a form of breaking down barriers. Kitty Fischer attended meetings & having survived Auschwitz due to a gay prisoner accessing a better supply of potatoes (because he wasn’t Jewish) meant that she and her sister stayed alive. It also meant that as a Jew she had a strong commitment to the rights of gay people, something that not all other members of the Sydney Jewish community shared. She had a lot of courage, which she passed onto the group. The group wasn’t political or was it.

 

The internet has changed a lot about  how we act in the world and what we know is going on, how people are organising to change things, and also what are the issues that matter to people. Different events cause people to see things from different perspectives. For example the recent cartoon controversy can be seen as a slight against a persecuted religion and also as an issue of censorship/freedom. Mainstream Islam can be seen as liberation for some on an economic poverty issue level & also as a repression of gender & sexuality liberation for many. People can be working for the advancement of some issues and against the advancement of others. Sometimes it comes down to our perspective of the world and what will make it a better place and what are the issues that need fighting for.

See my PGC website to see the issues that I consider priorities and how the entertainment industry is making the world a better place and further activities that if engaged in will move the world forward in a good way.