A window on humanity
By coincidence I found myself in Christchurch on the Saturday after the mosque shootings staring at a beautiful stained-glass window thinking about what makes New Zealand what it is. And the last couple of weeks have revealed our country’s personality and our values.
The window I was staring at was designed in 1919 and installed in 1938 and is the centrepiece of Christchurch’s Great Hall in the city’s Arts Centre; a memorial to those who fought and died in World War I. It depicts the concept of service of humanity by action and thought, and celebrates the values of truth, justice, and courage.
The values it depicts have been just as evident, and relevant, over the last 10 days as they were a decade ago. A crisis can bring out the best, and worst, in individuals and in a nation.
A week or so later, it seems that window in Christchurch captured the best then and now.
The acts of support from ordinary New Zealanders as they showed respect and solidarity with Muslim people; acts repeated across the country. We didn’t turn away and leave the Muslim community to heal itself; we got out and did something, whether it was merely symbolic or real, tangible changes.
Photos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern showed humanity through a simple hug and captured the attention of the world.
It was a courageous act by political parties to make a quick decision to ban semi-automatic guns, rather than get involved in a lengthy debate.
Hillary Clinton’s tweet in support of the ban was telling: ‘‘Public servants didn’t stop at thoughts and prayers. They chose to act,’’ she said.
Muslim communities could have closed themselves away, but instead opened their doors wider and allowed people in to find out more about their faith.
To me, it’s always a mark of how things are being seen in the world when I get messages from friends in Britain making comments about New Zealand and things they’ve seen in the news.
Let’s just say, most of them would be pretty happy to see a bit more of our kind of political leadership and our values over there.
And as last week was not a time for happiness, it’s hardly surprising that the results of this year’s Happiness Report went largely unreported here, but its findings were revealing.
The happiest countries score well in six key areas found to support well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. New Zealand ranks at number eight.
For the second year, the report looked specifically at the happiness and well-being of a country’s immigrant communities when compared to the rest of the population. In the happiest countries, migrants are almost exactly as happy as the rest of the population; which shows how good integration, diversity and open-mindedness benefit everyone.
This past week, when we have unwillingly featured prominently on the world stage, the message we have sent is one of strong Kiwi values.
And while life has moved a long way from when the memorial window in Christchurch’s Arts Centre was designed, it shows not much has changed in terms of what makes New Zealand.
From our leaders, through to many of us across many communities, we’ve had an opportunity to show the world what we are made of.
The last word goes to Australian comedian Magda Szubanski, who undoubtedly hit on the phrase of 2019 when she urged other politicians to ‘‘Ardern Up’’. She meant by this, to show strength, decency, compassion and true leadership. I reckon a lot of us have done that over the last two weeks.