Painful divisions same as the 60s
For a while there last week, the political landscape looked like a 1960s flashback what with cannabis reform and the Vietnam War back in the headlines, again. According to the polls, two thirds of New Zealanders now support either the decriminalisation of cannabis or its legalisation, while an even higher proportion (82per cent) favour easier access to cannabis for medical use.
The political response to this news however, unfolded along entirely predictable lines. New Zealand First called for a referendum – their usual solution to social controversies – on decriminalising cannabis, a proposal that would keep the drug illegal but leave its users liable only for civil fines. The Greens advocated legalisation. Both major parties kicked for touch, using the same cautionary arguments heard since the 1960s – ie, think of the young people, what example would Parliament be set- ting, what about the need to treat users and sellers differently, before long you’d have cannabis shops on every street corner etc etc.
Few such concerns apply of course, to the marketing and sale of alcohol, where the sensitive minds of the nation’s youth are treated as more expendable.
As for the users vs sellers distinction, successive governments have been reluctant to raise taxes significantly on alcohol merchants, to reduce consumption.
Even alcopops, the gateway drugs to alcohol misuse by the young, have long been shielded from punitive taxation. Parliament’s reluctance to embrace the medical use of cannabis for pain relief sends a particularly callous message, and one that’s utterly at odds with public opinion.
Back in the 1960s, public opinion was even more polarised over the Vietnam War, even if the passage of time has dulled the passions involved. Last week’s thwarted commemoration of the 1966 battle of Long Tan illustrated just how readily these painful divisions can re-emerge. Ultimately, Vietnam chose to cancel the 50th anniversary commemoration of a conflict in which between 250-900 of its troops had died.
Officially, Vietnam still treats
Talking politics
Long Tan as a victory, despite those heavy losses, and despite the strategic setback the Viet Cong insurgency suffered in the wake of the battle. Some 3,000 Australian veterans – who also regard Long Tan as a victory - had spent a lot of money to attend the battle site, and they’ve been offended by a last minute cancel- lation described across the Tasman as a ‘kick in the guts.’ Still, Australia’s claim to sensitivity about Vietnam’s sensibilities felt somewhat at odds with the decision to restage a Vietnam War era concert by the Aussie singer Little Pattie, as part of the festivities. Ultimately, Vietnam concluded that the solemn occasion had not been sufficiently insulated from potentially offensive displays of Aussie triumphalism.
In New Zealand, the 50th anniversary of the Long Tan victory has been planned to commemorate our entire Vietnam War effort. Not far below the surface, the 1960s divisions rumble on.