Saturday, March 30, 2024

THE VOICE: Now we realise what is important

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What will become important is what has always been important. Last month I wrote about all the things we could do coming up in the rural calendar and within five days the whole world changed and we were heading into lockdown.
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There are no two ways about it, the world has changed and we might never again see the likes of what was deemed important before the covid-19 pandemic.

What seemed to be important in the world we were part of was the ideological lifestyles of the rich and famous or those who found themselves in a position of governance and what their opinions meant. 

That was driven by their social and mainstream media presence, how many followers they had and who was making money off the star attractions’ following. It often gave the star an over-inflated sense of self-worth and in their mind they thought they had the right to comment on everything and anything that added support to a liberalised world.

Let’s look at some examples.

The Kardashians found themselves famous overnight and the crazier they got the more people followed them, the money poured in to allow more of a presence and a so-called reality television show. But I ask what did they really contribute to society? 

It seemed that every singer, television personality and politician who has had absolutely nothing to do with farming and rural lifestyles had an opinion on the way farming around the world was done. 

They all joined the feel-good movement encompassing the world, a new religion, something you had to be a part of so you were seen to be a part of something, the movement under the umbrella of climate change. 

Now don’t get me wrong, the world does need less pollution and to reduce the toll humans have put on the environment. To question the path we take is always good for the sustainability of the world we live in. That’s not my argument here.

My issue is how many people jumped on that bandwagon and sang, no, preached from the rafters about how rural people making a living was killing the world. 

Award ceremonies were held where superstars got up and preached how we needed less meat and we must look to a new way of life to save the planet while the flowers on the tables and on stage had been flown in from another country by private jet. I could go on about this but I am sure you get the picture.

In the short time since covid-19 turned up we have seen huge drops in pollution levels around the world as air travel and vehicles cease to burn fuel and yet the numbers of livestock have stayed the same. 

We needed to make changes on the pollution front but maybe covid-19 made the transition of less environmental effect by the human race in the shortest of times by locking down our movements.

New Zealand is going to hurt. Tourism and trees, as some politicians endorsed over farming to reduce the effect on the environment are now found wanting. 

We will need to support the tourism industry from within our shores and the only way to do that is to ensure those inside our borders who can earn and spend will have the ability to do so. 

I am not saying all the good work farmers have done up till now in sustainability can be reduced or the importance of that work is irrelevant.

What I am saying is that it is no longer a race. 

We need to balance the ability to be financially sustainable while being environmentally sustainable, not be expected to reach lofty targets set when the world was burning more fossil fuels and living beyond its means before the pandemic.

For NZ those targets need to be readdressed as soon as possible. We must lift the lid on the pressure cooker the primary industries have been under as we look to the future.

We will get more community spirit from this pandemic. It’s already obvious as we see people checking in on their neighbours and showing patience in queues for groceries, things like the Top Twins driving through Methven playing music from their ute and urban streets coming together to work out at a distance. All these things add up to increased community spirit.

As we have lost international sport and events I look forward to going back to the future where local sports events are a place to go and catch up, communicate and get a feel for how everyone is. Maybe less isolation, maybe less mental health issues, who knows?

One thing I do know is that what has become important now has always been important – food, shelter and good company.

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