World Events and Isolation

[Happy Clappy]

One of the attractions New Zealand holds for me is that it seems so far away physically from everything going on in the world. I remember watching a programme on TV where a couple had moved abroad and hadn't watched the news or read a newspaper for months. They seemed so very content with there new lives. For you people who have moved to NZ, do you find that you lose interest in world events and become a bit more detached, or do you follow them as much as you did before you moved? Do you feel better about the physical isolation or does it bother you?

[Fern49]

I'm not one who has moved to New Zealand so I can't speak for them, but for myself, with all the news & programmes available on tv or via the web, I don't feel isolated at all, never have had, in fact I love being so far away from all the strife in the World.

[dharder]

No, I don't lose interest, and hope I never will. And yes, it does feel isolated, the news on TV are not very good and don't get me started on the printed press. There is generally less interest in anything not related to NZ here, but it is much easier to not be interested and get away with it. Personally, I find that 'head in sand' attitude very worrying.

If you (not a personal you, just any old you) think this is 'it', I find the perspective gets lost. In the big scheme of things, nothing that happens here is of much interest to the rest of the world, but vice versa, what happens in the rest of the world will have some influence on NZ, whether you have your head in the sand or not.

If you are not interested in what others are doing, I also think you are missing out on experiences others have made that you could learn from. It seems that everything new that gets introduced here as never been done anywhere else, or at least people seem to think so, so all mistakes that have been made by others beforehand have to be made again. For example, introducing the AT Hop card (similar to Oyster cards), and merging it with some other card, etc, was a shambles. Why, I have no idea. Other places, bigger and more complex places, have done it before, shouldn't be that hard. Education system: national standards. Others have done it, issues have resulted from it, but there seems to be no learning process from those mistakes.

Road/Traffic planning: surely you could take a hint or two from other places? Environment: look to places that have had to deal with the kind of river pollution encountered here and learn from those mistakes. Young drivers: is it really that hard to look how other countries are dealing with young driver education? Size of parliament: why on earth do you need a parliament this size for a country this size? Contrast and compare with other similar sized countries in a 1000 word essay.

So yes, I wish there was more interest in the big picture, and I do mind.

[kiwieagle]

I tend to agree with Daniela about a general head in the sand attitude and her examples are apt. It can be really irritating.

On the other hand, I've managed to find friends in my low population area that do care about world events and take them seriously.

I think the fact that nothing that happens in NZ really matters much to the rest of the world (of course, Fonterra, the FBI and Kim Dotcom would probably disagree) is a positive thing for NZ. I do read and consume way less news and I find that healthy. It's nice to live in a place where people are interested in living in the moment. But, yes, it can be a bit frustrating when it gets to the point of willful ignorance especially when it comes to reforming anything.

[Happy Clappy]

I think I've reached a stage where I'd actually really like to retreat and bury my head in the sand. There are so many horrible things going on in the world, and although I can influence things locally in a very minor way, I can't change the horrible things in the world I don't like. So there's a growing part of me that says wouldn't it be better to not hear almost every day about something or other that upsets you and just try to live a happy, reasonably good, reasonably moral life on a purely local scale.

[dharder]

I think I've reached a stage where I'd actually really like to retreat and bury my head in the sand.

I understand the urge to do this, I get frustrated with many things and despair at others. But personally, I want to model something a bit more 'global' in terms of thinking for my children.

[Happy Clappy]

I understand the urge to do this, I get frustrated with many things and despair at others. But personally, I want to model something a bit more 'global' in terms of thinking for my children.

Each to his or her own.

I'm just thinking that I've taken the forum name of Happy Clappy, and I'm sounding like a complete misery. But, I am basically a happy, cheerful person, but my mood darkens when I spend any time reading, listening to or watching the news.

[Janey]

I think you get a more balanced news here tbh, you here just as much about the UK, other partrs of euroupwe as well as China, America etc

[dharder]

I think you get a more balanced news here tbh, you here just as much about the UK, other partrs of euroupwe as well as China, America etc

More balanced than what/where?

[DMS]

While I try to stay up on current events, the news in the US, especially cable news and various online new sites is so politicized that it's actually hard just to get the news and not some partisan op ed about how "x" is all screwed up because of what "y" party is doing. There are no solutions being put in place, just pointing fingers and blame. I can understand how the OP would have a desire to check out for a while. It's not necessarily a standpoint of ignorance is bliss but more of a concept of distance from despair; you can only listen to so much negativity without it eventually affecting your view of society. I don't know how it is in Europe but it would seem that commonsense is becoming not so common among so many people here in the US.