This post is part of the A to Z 2020 Challenge. I have decided to theme the posts around personal and societal responses to the Covid 19 crisis, including my resumption of Blogging!
Do you trust your Politicians?
In a democracy, we choose people to represent us in doing the job of managing our country because the knowledge, processes and institutions involved in running a country are beyond most of us. In an ideal world, politicians would be elder citizens who have worked in the “real” world and bring a variety of experiences to the table. Too often, we get instead, a class of professional politicians who have never done a day’s work outside the bubble of government.
We have to place our trust in the politicians we elect and under the stress test of the present Covid 19 crisis, many governments are being found wanting, many are taking the opportunity to seize power in a more authoritarian way under cover of the crisis yet some governments, many led by women, are doing much better than others.
Sex and Trust
I am fascinated by the part that instinct plays in the human way of life. We must spend something like 21 years raising a family so the power of sex and love must glue us together for the duration through what, for most couples, is bound to have some ups and downs. Yet is said that infidelity on the part of men is down to their instinct to spread their seed wherever they can, and before the advent of genetic testing, men (and women) could mostly get away with this. However trust, once broken by infidelity discovered, is hard, and for some, impossible to rebuild. Women are often portrayed as the opposite of wild oat sowing men – faithful nest-builders yet not only among humans but also among some birds, has it been discovered that certain females partner up with good providers – first of nest-building materials and then food for the chicks. However the female then secretly mates with a more “fit” and showy male thus getting the best of both worlds…
In some bird species, such as the Bower Bird, it is the quality of the nest building and decorating which is the criteria for selection of a mate by the female whilst for others, it’s all about the Peacock plumage. How does this relate to trust in politicians?
“Male” and “Female” Values in politicians.
In an article by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox in Forbes, she writes about how the countries which have the best response to the corona virus crisis have one thing in common – women leaders! Iceland, Taiwan, Germany, New Zealand, Finland, Iceland and Denmark all have women Premieres and all have had better responses to the crisis than say Britain, the US, Brazil, India or Russia where right-wing politicians are consolidating power and wielding it unwisely at the cost of the lives of their citizens. Taiwan has had an exemplary response to the virus – a fast, testing and tracing based response by Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan (which was lost to the world because the WHO is China leaning and wouldn’t acknowledge the existence of Taiwan or the warnings it issued about what was happening in China let alone report on its successful strategy!).
Iceland is a large island with a small population and a pioneer of whole-population genetic testing (which revealed lots of infidelity-produced babies that led to many divorces in Iceland) and so tested its entire population under the leadership of Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and “will become a key case study in the true spread and fatality rates of COVID-19” according to Avivah Wittenberg-Cox. Avivah goes on to suggest that for years, research has shown that the leadership styles of women have much to recommend them and points us to an article on 7 Leadership Lessons men can Learn from Women.
Are men led by the instinct first to reproduce and then to grasp power – the biggest and best tail feathers? Are some women seduced by the Donald Trumps of this world with their bright orange colouring and big towers? Are all women consummate nest-builders and faithful partners? How much are we driven by instinct to the detriment of common sense? These are the things that keep me awake at night – but on the evidence of the present crisis, whatever drives the women premieres in whom their people have placed their trust, seems to be working much better than the countries where men are the chosen ones…
I agree! It's hard to believe that our government is acting for our wellbeing, well maybe they try and want to, and this crisis is not so easy to handle…
T is for Taupe
We are truly blessed to have Jacinda Ardern as our leader in this dreadful time. It's not an easy crisis to handle but she has done so well in NZ.
Suzy Someday Somewhere Letter T
Trust is an important part of our everyday existence. If we have no trust in people, life will become extremely hard. It's trust that keeps us going.
Regarding politics, yes, it's the trust that we repose in politicians that gets them to power. Not all of them honour the trust, unfortunately.
That Forbes story is a good one. Undoubtedly women leaders bring to the table some unique practices that often men aren't able to.
By the way, though India has a right-wing ruling party it's an exception — the response has been fairly good, considering the very high population density the nation has. The Prime Minister has been right on top of the game from mid-January onwards, and there is unity across the political spectrum to the measures that have been taken.
Of course, there are many issues, like lack of enough testing kits etc. One doesn't know what lies ahead. Like everywhere else, there are fears of a second wave and third wave.
I find it increasingly hard to trust the public. Everyone, especially politicians and media have an agenda they’re pushing, and they’re doing a great job. Pictures of beaches in Florida are floating around. On some they are crowded, and the caption says “how crazy, they’re all going to be infected with the virus.” On other pictures, claiming it’s a live webcam, the beaches are empty. “See, nobody there, quit whining already!”
So one of my trusted filters is my husband. He’s somewhat of a news junkie and seems to have found some sources that seem pretty trustworthy. But who knows, maybe they just mask better?
Wow. This was really an eye opener. I like your content . Sure will come back to read more.
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