Untitled

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 352, 22 March 1946, Page 16

Sir.-As a New Zealander of about the same age as Mr. Meek, I confess I too have considered leaving "God’s Own Country," even if only for Australia. We are an isolated dot in the world, and in the struggle to build material benefits our pioneer fathers necessarily neglected a culture of philosophy, and the finer arts even the art of enjoying life for life’s sake. ‘ There is not the scope in New Zealand for Rutherfords, Lows and Cowards. Perhaps that is all for the best. We cannot be a really independent country. Even our foreign policy, in the age of power politics, must be tied to some stronger nation. We import the greatest entertainment and art product of any age-motion pictures, we import books, philosophies, and works of art. Yes! I feel it is right that we export a brain now and again. After all, since the rest of the world feeds our culture (in exchange for meat and butterfat) we can lease an economist to England, providing he gives us the benefit of his study; and possibly New Zealand may offer him .£600 per annum to return, It would cost much less per year than our war expense to give every 20-year-old New Zealander a six-month tour of the world. Such education would broaden the narrow, six-o’clock-closing-time, self-righteous attitude which is unfortunately prevalent in the present generation.

J.

VAUTIER

(Palmerston North),