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A Different View

Entry 2405, on 2025-07-22 at 19:45:45 (Rating 4, Comments)

I like to be a maverick. When I find myself agreeing with the majority I reconsider my ideas and wonder whether I am just following along with what is considered polite, or socially acceptable. Of course, there are occasions when the majority opinion is correct, so it shouldn't be rejected without careful thought, but just agreeing with the currently popular view is often problematic.

So let's have a look at a few popular views today where my opinion differs...

First, Palestine. I have made no secret of my support for Israel, which I have discussed in a few previous posts. I don't think Israel is completely without blame, because they could do more to reduce casualties in the war, but I certainly don't think the popular view that they are indulging in genocide is true.

And it is possible that there might be some Israeli actions which are technically war crimes, but I would be surprised if that didn't apply to every side in every war, including Hamas who are clearly far less moral than Israel, and the Allies in World War II, and every other participant in every other war.

The reason Israel is being criticised so widely (including by New Zealand and over 20 other countries today) is that while Israel is winning the war from a military perspective, Hamas is winning it in terms of propaganda, helped by the corrupt Western media who repeat doubtful claims without fact checking and always present the situation in a way most critical of Israel.

Second, climate change. The popular opinion is that climate change is real and we need to do more to achieve "climate justice". The first part I think is basically true: climate change is happening, although the causes aren't completely clear. The second part is very much open to interpretation. Climate justice sounds good, doesn't it? I mean we all want justice, don't we. But what does it mean? It's a very generic term which can be twisted for whatever purpose an activist wants, including trying to destroy capitalism.

Again the media are primarily to blame. Any time we have a weather event, such as flooding, drought, etc, we hear it is because of climate change. OK, maybe sometimes it is, but even real climate experts warn against blaming these individual events on global climate change. Weather disasters have always happened, whether we are burning a lot of coal and oil, or not.

Third, Donald Trump. I agree, there are problems with Trump's personality and policies, but that applies to every leader. For example, I broadly agree with controlling the border and removing illegal immigrants in most cases, but I would like to see a more moderate implementation of the policy, where immigrants who arrived illegally but now have become productive citizens by working and participating in the community are given citizenship and allowed to stay. But all new illegal immigrants should be removed immediately and referred to the process through which they can immigrate legally.

And Trump's tendency to say stuff without giving it too much thought, then to change his mind the next day, is annoying. Many people say to judge him on what he does rather than what he says, but that isn't easy. And, of course, many people are even more critical of his actions rather than his words.

But I find him a refreshing change from the insipid, untrustworthy leaders we have in most parts ot he world, especially New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. At least Trump is doing what he said he would do, even if he sometimes takes it too far.

Finally, indigenous rights. I don't think indigenous people deserve any more rights than anyone else. Why? Well the "indigenous" person was born in this country, and so was I. OK, my ancestors haven't been here as long as theirs, but so what? Are we talking about rights for me or my great great great grandfather? Also, having special rights for a group of people, especially based on race, is a recipe for resentment and division. Indigenous people deserve no special rights, but obviously they should have no less than anyone else.

And no, it's not racist. The real racist is the person who thinks one race (or culture or ethnicity) is so special (or so incapable) that they deserve or need special privileges that others don't get.

When "conventional" people hear some of my ideas they can be quite shocked. After all, I seem like such a helpful, likeable, reasonable person, most of the time! But they need to understand that to judge people as evil or uninformed because your views differ is just lazy and arrogant. People whose ideas differ aren't bad, they just have a different view.

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