John Campbell gone, a tragedy, travesty or a wake up call?

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Well the axe has fallen, like a slow rolling locomotive, John Campbell and his supporters have been put out of their misery.  Now I have to say I like John Campbell and supported his programme.  I have enjoyed seeing various politicians, shysters, crooks, and generally mean people squirm under the intense scrutiny of the Campbell Live team.  I will be eternally grateful that I don’t have to pass by the honey traps that the dead sea secret mud sellers set in the shopping malls.  There is no doubt that John Campbell has done a power of good.

It is a moot point whether Campbell has paid the price for pricking the consciences of the powerful, it is what it is. TV3 is a private enterprise and entitled to make decisions, as of course we as consumers are. I will make a point of not buying anything advertised in the replacement show of Campbell Live.  Here is the nub for me, the thing I find obscene, distressing and sickening. On Facebook someone lamented who would highlight child poverty, who will keep politicians and bad people accountable, I read this and was enraged, we have abrogated our responsibilities to the suited crusader, Mr John Campbell esquire.

Let me explain, I am an agent of social change, I attempt to hold people accountable, call out loudly when I see things that alarm me, challenge injustice when I see it.  I have written before how it is tiring defending yourself and dealing with your own injustices let alone others https://kiwipaulspoetry.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/this-frog-is-tired-of-being-boiled/.  However when we rely on a highly paid high profile, journalist to be our social conscience then we are in trouble.  I have lamented how people just don’t care about issues, I guess I am not completely correct but what we have seen with the slow death of John Campbell is a clear definition of where the problem lies.

It is no secret that the National Party celebrate the loss of the Campbell Live show, the question has to be asked why.  Is it possible that they realised that our society’s defence against the epidemic arising from the economic policies of neo-liberal politics had come to John Campbell? That the electorate did not care about the excesses of neo-liberalism, the causalities of our “free market” economy was abundantly clear in the results of the election.  Campbell was a thorn in their sides.  Well I see that as a moral failure.

Any reasonable person who has a simple grasp of the reality we live in should be able to see that people are living at the margins of society, that vulnerable people are being hurt, hopes dreams and normality is destroyed as a growing number of people are being excluded from participating in society.  The answer from political parties as a whole is inadequate.  Labour wants to in fight about the politics of funding transgender surgeries and National throws 25.00 at families and crows about how generous it is.  Enough to make me vomit. The Greens are written off as looney lefties, New Zealand first is more concerned about a bit more tar seal in Northland, Peter Dunne well if he was ever the answer the question was exceedingly stupid and The Maori Party have become as irrelevant as the ACT (the association of charlatans and tax avoiders).

The only politicians who care are soon shut up by their political masters because the voters only want to hear good news, they don’t want to have to be the ones who tell us that we need to either pay more tax or grow the cake.  Perhaps we need to make sure that the multinationals who profit so much from the free market and flexible labour laws pay their share, perhaps we need to make sure that those who profit tax free from property do so no longer and perhaps we also need to say enough… demand that our Government does what is should and eliminate poverty and its close cousin of abuse in New Zealand.

Rest in Peace Campbell Live, but it is time we stood up as we should.

Paul

Guest Post From My Delightful Daughter Julia

Keep Campbell Live

The following is a repost from my daughter, she wrote this and I share it with you

I can tell you one thing, Media works needs to keep Campbell Live. New Zealanders need their issues addressed, need them to be herd and need a voice who can speak for the ones who can’t be heard and Campbell Live has done that.

He has changed lives and made New Zealand whole in a way that others have never been able to fix. Ever since I was young I grew up watching Campbell because my parents always did but only now do I realize the impact he has made. When I was younger I had buck teeth, I wasn’t confident in myself at all, I was afraid of meeting new people and even buying something from the shop was huge for me. A couple of years later when I was starting progress in my teeth from seeing an orthodontist, Campbell did an interview on Evan and his major buck teeth. He raised over 100,000 dollars which payed for his treatment, the rest of the money being able to pay for his younger sisters teeth the family alongside Campbell proceeded to start up a charity that paid for children’s dental work in new Zealand.

For that one story, he changed Evans life, his sisters life, and 100s of other kids who’s parents couldn’t afford to pay for their kids dental  treatment.

Lunch Box day, he worked together with Kids Can to provide lunches for children all over New Zealand.  Imagine that, 1000s of kids didn’t go hungry that day, or in the near future.

Can’t you see New Zealand? It’s not National who has done all this! What good have they done? Open your eyes and stop giving credit to the ones who have only taped up the crack on the fence but give a pat on the back to the guy who has replaced the whole fence.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! What is the most important thing in life? It is people! It is people! It is people!

Thank you John Campbell, for helping New Zealand and focusing on the people.You have made a difference and influenced me to make one too.

http://faithlikesnow.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/keep-campbell-live.html?spref=fb