Trump shooting also exposes New Zealand’s hidden dangers « The Standard

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The video and news of Trump being shot today shocked the world. In a broad sense, it occupied the headlines of major media, attracted a large number of viewers, and became a hot topic for many people.

Trump, a professional strongman at heart, pumped his fists several times in a show of defiance and strength, and Secret Service agents swarmed in to get him safely in. Trump’s allies saw this as a great opportunity to show Trump’s strength.

Everyone, including New Zealand Prime Minister Luxembourg, condemned the violence.

The gunman was about 137 meters away from the shooting scene, on the flat roof of a nearby building, when he opened fire. This was an apparent direct attack on Trump, which was described as a serious security oversight.

According to witnesses, they called the police and the Secret Service for several minutes. forward Shooting incident.

Mr. Smith said he tried to alert the police and the Secret Service Three to four After a few minutes, they realized the roof was tilted so the gunman might not be visible.

“Why aren’t there Secret Service on these rooftops?” he asked. “This is not a big place. (This is) a security lapse, 100 percent security lapse.”

“I was thinking to myself ‘Why is Trump still talking, why aren’t they taking him down’ … and then five shots rang out.”

Now, this in itself makes for some interesting analysis, even if it’s just sheer incompetence.

But the world media is awash with information and real-time updates on this matter, and my intention is not to replicate or speculate.

Instead, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on some history and rethink what this means for our own country – New Zealand.

America Then and Now

In 1838, the sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, reflected:

When will danger come to our country? My answer is that if danger comes to us, it must come from within us. It cannot come from abroad.

Lincoln’s words were prescient.

For a long time, the United States has given people the impression that it is a strong and united country.

Not long ago, Americans danced together and sang “USA” spoke proudly of their country, and “My fellow Americans” It seemed genuine and affectionate. They were never perfect.

But that unity is not just shaky; that sense of commonality is shattered.

Today, we saw rhetoric with potentially aggressive overtones – America against America.

A combination of culture wars, corruption and deliberate misdirection and False information is indeed dividing the American people.

The problem is not the division between left and right, liberal and conservative, woke and apathetic, but the fact that extremes are the real danger. When one side changes direction, the other side automatically moves into that territory.

Radicalization occurs when someone’s political or religious beliefs become more extreme, often viewing opponents as enemies.

Incited by right-wing media, leaders and politicians, some Americans have come to believe that the United States is occupied by illegal immigrants, the economy is in free fall, there is no hope, and’Corruption, Uselessness, Wokeness, Left-wing Politics and Politicians It is the main cause of all their problems.

They come to believe that one side is useless, actively contributing to its own doom, and is undermining American interests.

Any contrary views are ignored, avoided, or regarded as malicious or useless.

Now, the discussion is no longer about policies, understanding or working together to find the best solutions for unified prosperity, cohesion and harmony.

For some people, they have come to see the other side as the source of all problems, or even the enemy.

I’m not talking about extreme fanatics, I’m talking about the spread of fanaticism Enter For example, by making people more extreme — using fear, misinformation, and anger — to change the culture of an entire country.

Therefore, as these tendencies grow on the right, the need for e.g. “Woke liberals.” As the story goes, Trump has become the perfect mirror and container.

Once-respected Republicans, such as Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney, are now labeled fake Republicans and are mocked and excommunicated by Trump supporters.

These are, in fact, extraordinary developments, and at the root of all of this is the poison of misinformation warfare perpetrated by those with selfish motives.

The real genius of all this is that, on the surface, this logic can be applied to different sides as the left begins to see more risk and more decisive opposition. The truth, as always, lies in history, nuance, facts, and details. That’s why some parties actively promote ignorance, misinformation, and populist slogans, while others do their best to educate, inform, and fact-check.

This is the great paradigm shift we are witnessing.

Whatever you are willing to do, you can achieve.

Trump’s “2025 Plan” is an authoritarian American plan. If he wins, the United States will be under Trump’s unilateral rule, which will fundamentally change the United States and even yes.

Trump seems very keen on trickle-down economics and anti-environmental policies. He is keen on military force and punishing those who oppose him. He also seems very keen on billionaire interests, corporations, and sovereign nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia.

It is nearly impossible to work with people who don’t work with you. If they exist only to gain political advantage or to serve the interests of corporate donors, billionaires, or even other countries with deep pockets, then the political system doesn’t work.

The situation in the United States now will be terrible no matter who wins because fanaticism, false information and false beliefs have been allowed to continue for too long.

How does this affect New Zealand?

New Zealand has its own problems to deal with. We are the least sophisticated when it comes to culture wars and disinformation. However, we are not immune.

Misinformation is defined as information that is incorrect or misleading, whether or not it is presented with malicious intent.

this”The third stop water areaFor example, the ‘less democracy/more water bills’ campaign led by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Alliance seems to have a number of populist slogans.

I remember a lot of people around them would chant and repeat “3 Waters is a thief”, which is frankly confusing because all the infrastructure is still owned by the government.

I assume”Less democracy” refers to councils abandoning governance in favour of a more centralised regional model.

First, do ratepayers currently direct how councils manage water? Second, is that their job? And third, is the risk of unhappy ratepayers contributing to the risk of burst pipes, staggering infrastructure debt, and unsafe drinking water?

If so, thenLess democracy” What does it really mean in context?

The Royal Commission found that Havelock North Water. With 5000 New Zealanders poisoned, four dead and others disabled, it was clear there were major flaws in the management of New Zealand’s water infrastructure by “local” councils, the commission found.

I’m wondering if this could be a reason?

Then the National Party itself – while still in power in 2017 – released this Cabinet Memorandum And stressed the importance of central supervision:

Compared to other infrastructure sectors, there is little central oversight in the three water sectors to provide transparency, address challenges and actively encourage service improvements. There is little consistent, reliable information… This can create unforeseen risks of sudden infrastructure failure and/or decline… Smaller local authorities may also lack the professional capacity and capability to deliver services.

Last but not least, local councils always have a lower credit rating than central government, which means higher costs, so direct local council control was removed for this reason, i.e. keeping costs affordable for everyday New Zealanders while tackling the massive infrastructure debt that has risen to an estimated value of around $185 billion to $200 billion.

Did the Taxpayers Alliance, the group founded by Jordan Williams and David Farrar, promote these views in their attack ads? I’m not sure myself, but I do remember seeing a large section on “3 Waters is a thief‘ and ‘The third stop water area‘ signs are found all over New Zealand.

Interestingly, New Zealand TPU is closely related to large tobacco and overseas Right wing Accessory metal.

exist Dirty politicsHager writes that the Taxpayers Union “In fact, it is a remote ally of the National Party” and called it “Political toolsThe following year, political scientist Bryce Edwards described the Taxpayers Alliance arrive New Zealand Herald As”Action Party”.

The TPU took the lead in successfully attacking the Labour Party and the Green Party, spending Record numbers In the last election. In 2018, there were reports that they had $3 Millions of dollars in anonymous donations make them appear resourceful and busy.

Last year, right-wing think tank Atlas Network On the website, Jordan Williams boasted that New Zealand would soon become another Liberal “laboratory“The Taxpayers’ Alliance will work closely with the incoming Coalition Government.

They are also an irresponsible entity.

So who will police them when the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Alliance promises higher rates under Labour’s “three waters” model?

Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has Always the same Calling for higher water bills under National’s water pricing model. Kieran McNulty To reiterate: “You can’t just separate council control and the balance sheet. Councils will pay higher tax rates.

Despite National’s assurances last year that under their model the payroll tax rate would be the same or lower than Labour’s, the evidence seems to suggest this is not the case.

That’s the problem with any misinformation — whether intentional or not — it’s effective, and able It is used as a weapon for political victory, as we have seen in the United States and elsewhere.

Will National now, aided by a Taxpayers’ Alliance press release, take steps to privatise our water assets to avoid the truth about rising costs? (Wait a minute, someone whispered Kiwrail just now?）

That’s for another day.

We still have a chance to correct

Our relatively recent entry into this bold, unscrupulous, reckless world of misinformation means we still have a powerful advantage.

That’s the gift of foresight.

We have seen how this story has unfolded in the UK and the US.

We learned how populist movements work to divide and conquer, and how divisive rhetoric can harm not only the people it targets (such as Maori), but the nation as a whole.

I believe that those who make this move have no concern for the well-being and prosperity of the people of New Zealand and have other agendas.

As we have seen in the UK and the US, a nation’s self-destruction is the last thing on people’s minds who play games in this space.

I wrote My Substack The CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns more than 100 media entities including CNN, said he doesn’t really care who wins the U.S. presidential election. As long as they are M&A and business friendly. To him, that’s all that matters: who’s best for business.

The world we live in is shaped by the wealthiest people.

If either side starts a disinformation war against a certain ethnic group, the other side will realize that the rules of engagement have changed.

In this sense, everyone loses. New Zealand is not immune to this risk.

So let us use this opportunity to focus not only on America, but also to look within America and see how our people can meet the challenges of those who would divide us.