Tim Ordei
Whether true or not, the legend of the Jesters tells us they were the conscience of the king. In their comic storytelling, and with their ability to entertain, they were able to challenge the king when no one else dared, and remind him he wasn’t divine. This was also true for the Advocatus Diaboli (Devil’s Advocate), who was an official of the Catholic Church, charged with opposing the canonisation of a saint, regardless of their personal convictions.
In July of this year, Jacinda Ardern said, “Dismiss anything else, we will continue to be your single source of truth.” It’s taken a while to reflect on this statement. Perhaps I should give her the benefit of the doubt and say she was just expressing her frustration at some views on social media. However, she didn’t elaborate, so left the true meaning behind the speech unclear. It was a badly worded phrase from a leader of a democratic nation that is founded on a system of advocacy.
It got me thinking. It wasn’t necessarily this statement that was the problem. It was the fact that none of the journalists questioned it. Where were the Jesters? To say “We will continue to be your single source of truth” is basically telling the people of New Zealand not to think. I thought this was a sad day for New Zealand politics.
I’m not seeing much in the way of opposing views from the Opposition (or the media) on Covid policies. There are so many countries that don’t have access to the vaccines that they need for their vulnerable population, so where are the debates on whether or not it is useful to vaccinate our young and healthy, especially when studies are coming out showing that the vaccine may have little effect on transmission rates?
Where are the debates about the importance of aspirating vaccines to help prevent side effects?
Where are the debates about mask-wearing when studies are starting to show that cloth masks offer no benefit and that masks may cause immunosuppression, mask fatigue, and other health issues?
The vaccine may only reduce the instance of Long Covid by 22%, which is a disappointing result. Shouldn’t there be discussions on promoting additional tools to add to the Covid toolkit, like exercise, reducing the consumption of processed foods, providing better working conditions for health care workers and improving medical infrastructure?
The government’s (and the media’s) sentiment is that those who haven’t been vaccinated present the greatest threat to managing the Covid pandemic. This might be true, but maybe it’s not: how can I be sure? I’m not seeing much debate because it seems anyone in the medical profession who disagrees is either mocked or silenced. Even the ACT Party ridicules the unvaccinated as “stragglers and crazies” in their Freedom Day petition.
A recent study indicates that it is the elderly and obese who are the super spreaders of Covid – now that’s an important discussion to be had. Is it that poor lifestyle choices are making the control of Covid much more difficult and that the vaccine strategy is like trying to fix the train when it is the tracks that are broken?
Unfortunately, now that a precedent has been set for shaming the unvaccinated, a discussion about the role of the unhealthy in higher transmission rates is likely to descend into cries of fat-shaming, and name-calling.
Leaders in the West shouldn’t be attempting to isolate a single group and accuse them of being responsible for society’s problems. History has shown over and over again that this is a very bad road to go down.
If we had an effective opposition that was prepared to risk taking its role seriously, it is a road we could have avoided. If we are going to point the finger of blame, perhaps it should be at the successive governments who have failed to adequately invest in our health services. Wouldn’t it have been better to spend the billions of dollars borrowed to maintain extended lockdowns, on increasing the number of health workers and ICU capacity instead?
With the projected increase in the cases of type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle diseases over the next few decades, this investment into health will be needed, regardless of the Covid pandemic.
But credit where credit is due. It is encouraging to see some vigorous opposition to the Three Waters reform. Maybe it’s easier to debate policies when no lives are at stake but then decisions made about roading, alcohol and health infrastructure often prioritise other factors over safety and human wellbeing. For some reason, Covid has become the exception.
Labour’s continued efforts to push forward with the Three Waters reform in the face of what appears to be overwhelming opposition, suggests they have taken on board the notion that they are the “single source of truth”, and are unable, or just don’t want, to listen.
Getting angry and accusing councils of spreading misinformation, then mandating what should have been a voluntary adoption of the policy is taking on the persona of a bully, not someone seeking the best outcomes for the citizens it was elected to serve. It could be that councils just have a different worldview. Like Bolivia taking Bechtel to task over water rights, it seems that Labour is failing to understand that communities might see natural resources as a common good, and it’s just as much about the control of their water, as it is about ownership.
Establishing the truth is not an easy task and the role of the devil’s advocate is not a popular one, especially when arguing against a mainstream narrative. They are sometimes right, but they can often be wrong; it doesn’t matter. They require the freedom to highlight different points of view and new ideas to prevent groupthink and an insulated culture of incestuous ideas evolving into really bad outcomes.
Only hindsight will determine who has the truth – in the meantime, no one really knows for sure. Science is wrong most of the time and opposition is essential, in order to discover the truth. It’s often wise for policymakers to seek out feedback from thinkers and problem solvers, not just the experts.
Many of humanity’s important discoveries arose out of analogous fields. Freedom to speak and to debate ideas has brought about numerous paradigm shifts that have contributed greatly to human flourishing.
The Jester is dead… Long live the Jester.
