LORD REITH ON DEMOCRACY
Sir,-There may be some reasons for Democracy’s distrust of governments and leaders, but there is no reason at all for the attitude so common in New Zealand which induces men to thwart and evade the government at every turn. The idea that it is a clever thing to "do" the government is a result of a childish, schoolboy mentality, of a piece with attempts to outwit the "teacher"
at school. Many people never outgrow it, This is a kind of petty sabotage for which there is no excuse, If we are to wait for leaders of more than human perfection ‘we shall never get them until we learn to govern ourselves, Of course there is a psychological explanation. Since the dawn of history the government has always been the conqueror to whom tribute was paid and the racial memory leaves us with the slave complex; we are too mean spirited to realise that we are free if we choose to be so. Our freely-elected government has the right to our willing support.
J.
F.
(Christchurch).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 300, 23 March 1945, Page 5
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179LORD REITH ON DEMOCRACY New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 300, 23 March 1945, Page 5
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