Philistine

The average New Zealander is altogether devoid of imagination, both the spiritual imagination of Western Europe and the material visions of the American or Australian. The practicality which we praise and boast of amounts to an inability to see further than our noses. Any far-reaching and long term plan (of immigration or erosion control, for instance) is apt to be sneered down as visionary and grandiose.

The idea of the Good Life is meaningless to the New Zealander, unless it is to consist of endless race meetings, bar schools and gardening.

We tolerate barbarous laws relating to drinking, gambling and sabbath observance, which make Sundays a desert, savagely restrict drinking in all its more civilised aspects and make us the laughing stock of visitors from civilised lands. Our innate puritanism makes us ashamed to drink in front of mothers and children and drink is thereby segregated from ordinary life and becomes a semi-furtive vice. Drink with meals implies that liquor might be natural and normal and is therefore very wicked indeed. Drink with dancing implies that liquor and gaiety might be associated and is likewise most properly prohibited.

We stuff ourselves with monotonous and indigestible food (beer is preferred to wine, meat to fruit, and our chief vegetables are potatoes and cabbage) and our houses with heavy furniture and ornaments of atrocious design. Our clothing is drab and unvaried and to travellers from overseas our women look dowdy. Brightness of dress is the exception and clothes have often little relation to the wearer's features or figure.

Although we can be quite indifferent to the most appalling ugliness, we are used to and appreciate beautiful scenery, the nature of which developes our sense of colour rather than form. We are totally bereft of architectural imagination and build everywhere, alike in the backblocks and on the tops of mountains, boxlike suburban bungalows with a breath-taking disregard of the environment. We like flowers but our lack of imagination prevents us from making adequate use of them. We do have a real liking and talent for gardening and of all our interests this is the most nearly civilised.

We have no intelligent interest in the arts and our taste is as deplorable as our knowledge. Music is a partial exception, perhaps because its appeal is primarily emotional. It docs not occur to us for a moment that the appeal of the other fine arts is an intellectual one.

In short, despite some important virtues, most New Zealanders neither live nor conceive of a truly civilised life, as it exists in Europe, the Americas and even Australia.

J.B.C.