Politics, and democracy particularly, is a numbers game so if you're as small in number as a Burmese forest-dwelling nomadic tribe - like New Zealand is - it's unusual to stick your neck out for things values-based, anywhere a much bigger boot can stamp on it.
New Zealand's current stance on Israel's continued occupation of Palestine has been described by Netanyahu as "an act of war" which sounds impressive. Who knew McCully had it in him?
It is interesting as a toothy nip in the derriere of a 40-year impasse on meaningful negotiation towards a peaceful two-state settlement. Not that Israel has been very interested in democracy or diplomacy.
In 2006 Palestinians voted, in a heavily scrutinised election, which was declared free and fair - for Hamas.
Israel, much in the way that the Donald does, shouted: "Wrong!" and, with US backing, promptly cut off water to the parched Gaza strip.
Surely a declaration of war? The Palestinians had given the wrong (if also democratic) answer to the question: "Who is your leader?"
Many of us look askance at the Donald being the answer to anyone's question, similarly the US and Israel did not embrace the outcome after undemocratically failing to swing the vote away from Hamas.
It's the Hamas flag evident in CNN footage of "liberating forces" in Syria and the Orwellian newsreaders suggested "we" should be happy about this despite other US foreign policy suggesting Hamas are "terrorists". So ... against Assad, "we" back the US, who back the Saudis (angry that no one intervened when Assad gassed its own people, although they did nothing either).
The US trains and arms some "rebels", some of whom were probably Hamas, until Turkey turns and the word "liberators" gets assigned to Russian and Iranian backed Syrian militia.
Hamas' anti-Assad fighters are forced back into IS territory which plays to Putin's narrative that they're all just terrorists anyway.
Whom we now back, don't we? Who are we chucking rocks at again and what is this house made of? Who even is this "we"?
This time two years ago, Chris Findlayson acknowledged that Ngapuhi never ceded sovereignty under the treaty.
Israel's assertion then that the Pakeha "we" negotiating most of our foreign policy is working out its history of being an occupying force in Northland at least, by throwing rocks at Israel, begins to look less Pythonesque. Small bag of gravel-lite anyone?
