Jul.22 | Religious freedom, macro-aggressions, Twitter's futility, and more on COVID
Religious freedom slips down the rank of rights | Much-needed perspective from a Typhoon pilot | Performative outrage in the "digital town square" | Podcasting on our constitutional response to COVID
The retreat of religious freedom
New Zealand is predominantly and increasingly a secular society, though a significant minority of us practice some form of religion. For example, 16 percent of New Zealanders attend a Christian church at least once a month, and 2.5 percent of us are Hindu. COVID-19 posed a number of challenges for religious believers and their communities. For example, common Christian practices like communion (which in some traditions involves drinking from a shared cup) and corporate singing had the potential to spread COVID-19, while lockdowns limited the ability to gather for worship. The vast majority of believers accepted these restrictions as necessary and sensible but they were, nonetheless, significant. We all have to ask ourselves questions about the meaning and purpose of life, the existence of truth, and the source of moral order, and live with the answers. Religious believers do so in accordance with our respective faiths and, like our secular neighbours, treat these answers as foundational. So it was revealing, but perhaps not surprising, that so little consideration was given to religious freedom in our COVID-19 response. Keep reading
Pressure is a Messerschmitt
Keith Miller was an iconic all-rounder who lit up the post-war cricket fields of England and Australia after RAAF service as a fighter-bomber pilot. Asked once how he handled the pressure of Test cricket, he replied “I’ll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your arse. Playing cricket is not.” I remembered Miller’s remark while reading Typhoon Pilot and One More Hour, the wartime memoirs of Desmond Scott. A decorated ace and the youngest-ever Group Captain in the RNZAF, Scott’s books are a testament to an age we see only on the screen, one where arbitrary death and destruction stalked everyday life. Those days are long gone, hopefully never to return, but they provide some much-needed perspective on some of our contemporary complaints by teaching us some historical lessons particularly about maturity, mortality, and our common humanity. Keep reading
What is the point of Twitter?
Recently I wrote about our constitutional response to COVID, and the response from Twitter was predictable. WinstonSmith.cashOnly described it as “the ramblings of a mad man”. Of my argument that we should appreciate dissent and respect minority values, kay bee replied eloquently, but not entirely convincingly, “Absolute rubbish”. Danielle, Crass Twitter Lady was having none of it, telling her nearly 7,000 followers, “I haven’t given up on vilifying dissenters”, and Brent was also itching to unload “more opprobrium” on them. Amusing though it is to watch people saying the quiet part out loud, it also got me thinking about the role of a platform I quit in 2020. Keep reading
Talking COVID and the constitution
I enjoyed the opportunity to chat to John Peachey about my research for Maxim Institute. We covered social division and failures of empathy, why the crisis was not unprecedented, what we can celebrate and build on, and plenty more. Check out the interview on Rhema’s website (starting around the 38 minute mark) or listen in the podcast link below.