The power of a meme
By David MacGregor,
If you don’t support constructing a stadium on Auckland’s Waterfront you are opposed to all progress.
If you don’t ’get in behind’ the Rugby World Cup planning you don’t care about the economic development of New Zealand.
If you don’t support the United States occupation of Iraq, then you support the terrorists...
That is the power of a meme. Release an idea that is to be either supported or, by default, opposed. Hobson’s Choice.
John Grant describes the phenomenon rather well in his book After Image; either you are for Greenpeace or the destruction of the planet.
I can say with some confidence that my world is a little more colourful than those polarised views.
The discussion about Auckland’s waterfront should be separate from discussion of the Rugby World Cup. Not unrelated, but in terms of a Venn diagram World Cup is a subset of Auckland’s future planning. Not the other way around.
The politicians seem to have decided that the issue is one that will polarise Aucklanders and distract us from wider concerns. The tactic is usually known as divide and conquer. Trevor Mallard has lit the factional fuse and stepped back to enjoy the fireworks.
What matters to me is the development of Auckland as a vibrant creative city. It guts me to think we have visionary individuals like Peter Cooper of Bluewater group (who is redeveloping the Britomart precinct) and yet have so little confidently expressed vision from elected employees of the people. Cooper takes a long range, strategic view of urban planning, eschewing short term profit for careful development that will return something to citizens of Auckland and its visitors. (read the article from Idealog 3 ).
Local government and politicians in the Beehive are doomed to have short term horizons. They will bend to the will of the masses. Or they will unleash divisive, partisan memes to force short term agenda, notably their own re-election/election.
Auckland needs courageous leadership. The strip malls and shabby apartment developments on Quay Street are already travesties (ironically the apartment dwellers in the ’Scene’ apartments are crying foul over the potential blocking of their view when their own buildings create a canyon between the rest of the city and the water).
A colleague in my office suggested that most people, confronted with change of any kind will resist it. There is truth in that. But all change is not equal. Change with long reaching consequence needs time to be considered from various perspectives. He cited the public’s widespread opposition to Sydney’s Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. He avoided including the Aotea Centre which is widely acknowledged as a failure and lost opportunity.
I would support the construction of an iconic feature on Auckland’s waterfront. The Opera House, Eiffel Tower and The Guggenheim at Bilbao contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to their respective cities. A football stadium will not. (Quick, name your top 5 stadiums you want to visit - regardless of whether there is an event scheduled or not).
So, please, don’t categorise me as a luddite. I’m all for a radical ideas. But in this case I don’t think it is radical enough.
My personal view is that it might be better for the games to be played in Christchurch after all. There’s nothing wrong with Jade Stadium.
Read David MacGregor’s Blogs on Idealog
David MacGregor.com
David MacGregor’s personal blog The One & Only
Comments
jasonk
Henry A. Kissinger
"Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation."
I agree the debate about a national stadium should be entirely separate from the Rugby.
For the sort of money that is being talked we can give 10's of thousands of rugby fans free trips to Stadium Australia there in Homebush. I believe it is deserted most of the time - expensive and a perfect example of what we shouldn't be doing. We could however help Australia a bit by paying for their stadium debt this way.
It is an absurd idea but in good company in the present hysterical lather that pretends to be a debate.
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