Yes Sir; no Sir

The gongs are back and thank God, or should we thank the National Party? Having our own New Zealand titles is an admirable idea and while shrugging off another vestige of colonialism appeals, how often do we cut off our nose to spite our face?

There are two sides to every coin. While the queen has her place on one face we are still able to make our Kiwi mark on the other.
What was the point of having New Zealand titles and the recipients receiving no recognition at a public level? If someone has earned a knighthood then we are duty bound to give them the respect they deserve and address them as Sir or Dame. While any titled individual may feel they would prefer you call them by their Christian name; then that’s their call. But as a society we owe it to them to let them know they have earned our respect. We lift their personal brand status.

It was who removed the titles in the first place, and why, that suggests something far more sinister was afoot. I have been told by a friend within government (and I suggest she would know), that a group of high ranking women members of parliament wanted to dismantle New Zealand’s male dominated elite. They believed an effective way to neuter them was to abolish their titles.

Some of you will have read my article in the DomPost last year about collapsing communities. Communities need structure and hierarchies; they are essential for community survival. Now I’m not saying that these politicians were trying to erode our fragile communities but that was the result. Like lowering the age of drinking what appeals to the intellect can have disastrous social consequences.
These experiments in social re-engineering must stop. They create more problems than they solve and they are usually promoted by people with highly questionable motives

Before we improve anything we need to understand the ramifications of the change; yes sir!