"She Is Us"
An Evening With Jacinda.
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Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
But don't run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Songwriters: Jack Antonoff / Sara Bareilles
Last night, Fi and I saw the most extraordinary person, Jacinda Ardern, who was just as you imagine her, humble, down-to-earth, wise far beyond her years, and nothing like a politician.
It is her very ordinariness that makes her so extraordinary; you get the feeling she would be just the same having a one-on-one chat down at the local shops as she is upon the highest stages. She was authentically herself in a political arena where that is rare, and it made me realise she had always been that way.
There was no artificial persona, no pretence at being anything other than who she is, a young woman who became a mother at a most inopportune time and led the country through a terror attack, a volcanic eruption, and, of course, a pandemic, better than anyone, probably including herself, dreamed possible.
What a contrast to other leaders, to our Prime Minister, who likes to portray himself as the great businessman, doing deals, and pulling levers, but who you suspect is really just a scared little boy who wishes he were somewhere else.
Queues.
Perhaps in keeping with Jacinda’s time, things were a bit chaotic, but they worked well enough if you just went with it. We arrived to find the Civic car park closed, as had the dozens of cars in front of us, pulling U-turns and searching for alternative public parking on a cold Sunday night.
We dumped the car at Fi’s work, and Uber’d back to find long, snaking queues filling the foyer of the Aotea Centre. It was a bit shambolic, with clumps of people standing around talking and no obvious sign of where the queues began. I joked that we’d all forgotten the social distancing rules, imagining this many people stretched down Queen St, two metres apart.
Eventually, the doors opened, and the queues shuffled forward, but it was slow work as bags were checked and people were wanded with a metal detector. Still, at least there were no temperature checks or nasal swabs, and we found good seats close enough to the stage.
Then there she was, accompanied by the writer Noelle McCarthy, who would be asking questions. In quick succession, people rose to their feet and applauded, a standing ovation, even though she hadn’t said a word. It was an outpouring of great affection and gratitude.
Pip wrote, “We got emotional when she walked in to the standing ovation. A great night listening to her, such humanity, humour and optimism. Not forgetting the cabbage either.”
Family.
For those who have read the book, there was much said about the cabbage, and a delightful moment when Jacinda realised it wasn’t something that happened in every household and asked, “Is my family normal?”
What was clear from listening was that, like her, her family are ordinary, everyday Kiwis, yet extraordinary.
It’s hard to imagine a young politician emerging from Morrinsville and/or Murupara without the support of incredible role models. It’s also hard to imagine someone developing the values Jacinda holds without exposure to genuine hardship in a town like Murupara, where unemployment and gangs have long been issues.
We heard of her parents’ great support for her writing: her father encouraging her to say what she wanted, her mother providing journals of the time to help, and a nice moment of applause for her sister in the audience.
March 15.
I found the section where she spoke about March 15 to be brutally raw. She spoke about accepting that she would always feel sad about those events and that the words of thanks from so many affected had made her realise the scale of Islamophobia our Muslim community faces.
There was discussion of the world situation post-COVID, with countries overseas seeing the growth of nationalist parties with anti-migrant rhetoric, and she had a cabbage-based suggestion for Donald Trump. Remarkably, with all that is going on in the world, she remains positive about the future.
The way she sees it, this began back at the GFC, when people around the world could see how blatantly governments were being run in the interests of the wealthy and politicians, and they lost faith. But when the right fails to deliver what they want, people will return to the left.
She said that a politician should be true to what they stand for, lay out their store, their platform of policies, and stand behind it. Earlier in the evening, there had been barbs directed at David Seymour and politicians without empathy, which could apply to so many in this government, but this felt like a wee dig at Chippy.
Let’s do this?
I’m familiar with all the arguments. That it’s fiscally responsible to wait until the books are open before making promises, that releasing policy early will only encourage National to spread misinformation or water down a policy and claim it as their own. Yet with all that is going on at the moment with policies being debated, I’m not sure Chippy has got it right.
I believe a politician should be clear about what they will do, and I want to know they genuinely believe in it. I don’t want to hear that, based on the books, we can only do this much. I want a grand vision of returning this country to the egalitarianism we grew up with, a New Zealand where everyone got a fair go, and there was much greater equality.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Chippy; he is head and shoulders above most in parliament, but I can’t help wondering whether sitting on the sidelines has been the best course of action.
He spoke well during Q&A yesterday, but it felt as if his hands were tied behind his back because he couldn’t address any policies. Mind you, there wasn’t a thing in the world that would make Erica Stanford, who was also on the show, even remotely like Jacinda.
Humility.
Penny said, “What a session with Jacinda. Beyond words. Humanity, humility and intellect with every breath. Also highly entertaining and funny.”
So humble and wise was Jacinda that I found myself questioning how we could ever have had someone like her as our Prime Minister. She is someone’s daughter, someone’s mum, someone’s wife; it seemed scarcely credible that this utterly down-to-earth Kiwi had not only reached the heights of our political system but was also highly regarded around the world.
Marilynn wrote, “I remember listening to her in Hamilton on the election campaign when Andrew Little resigned. Jacinda cast a spell on a capacity-filled theatre, and we all knew that she was going to be a wonderful future leader.”
I hope we can see more of that “Let’s Do This” spirit from Labour soon. Chippy is not Jacinda, but he, too, is sincere and shows great maturity; he just needs to offer people a clear vision of what he believes and how it will improve their lives.
Some on the right will always question Labour’s ability, which has nothing to do with reality; you won’t convert them, but there are a whole lot of Kiwis who know that things aren’t right at present and who are looking into other alternatives like NZ First or TOP, in part because there is nothing from Labour to get behind.
Melwyn commented, “She was wonderful. Witty, poignant, funny and incredible. Loved every minute!”
As we walked out into the cold night’s air, I thought of those times during Covid, and earlier, and of how fortunate we were to have such an extraordinary leader when we needed one most. Her positivity and belief in the future gave me hope.
Here was a leader who came from an ordinary Kiwi upbringing, albeit one with more exposure to those doing it tough than many. She had accomplished incredible things simply by working hard and staying true to herself and her values.
Hope.
There are people in the Greens and Labour from such backgrounds with such values, and I feel optimistic about them. But watching Jacinda, it was obvious that there is no one quite like her, and all we can do is be grateful and marvel that our small nation produced this woman, so extraordinary and yet so ordinary.
Those who were in that room or have seen her on other occasions can only have been impressed by her honesty and assuredness about what is right, and I found it all the more difficult to understand those poor deluded fools who had protested outside.
Jacinda didn’t understand the depth of anger either, but did offer, “at least they’re still alive”, as her real impact on those who are still angry.
“She Is Us” at our very best, that’s not too much to ask of a leader, is it?
Have a good Monday, folks, and take care, all you fabulous, brave people.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
To end today, here’s Sara Bareilles with “Brave”:
If this one reaches 100 likes by early afternoon, I'll open it up to all.
What I particularly admire about Dame Jacinda is her dignity and humanity in the face of the relentless, and at times obscene and violent, onslaught from the bitter, twisted, mottley anti-Jacinda minority. A wonderful role model for the daughters of New Zealand and, indeed, the world.