Dialogue: God does bless America

A kiwi chick, if it is to make its way into the world, first has to break the shell that nurtured it to gain life and vigour.

This image reflects our nation, which is at a crossroads as it seeks to define itself amid the swirling global realities of the 21st century.

Those citizens who have a cocooned view of themselves are like a kiwi chick which barricades itself in its shell and tries to resist the inevitable. The reality is, it is better to launch out into the world than to be pushed out into it.

The present national values debate is part of an international one. World leaders are accepting the view that to live inter-dependently on our planet, nations have to acknowledge people's equality and spirituality, while sharing global wealth, since injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Many countries which had strong sets of societal values are in a state of crisis as material values have taken priority over the more fundamental spiritual and cultural ones. The violent behaviour many young people exhibit in a range of countries is linked to the failure of many societies to put their children first.

It is interesting to note that if you ask children and young people what they hope for from their family, they say, almost universally, that they want to see all members of their family spending a happy time together and they want to see their father and mother getting on.

What is all this saying? In the absence of strong support from Churches and other institutions to help families with the values-nurturing of their children, there is a strong case to be made for schools to step into the breach to assist families in this vital area.

The United States, despite all its failings, weaves a magic on its citizens whether they are of indigenous, European, Asian, African or Latin America origin. It does this with its concept of being "an American."

The label draws out all that is best in this nation of 273 million and is a unifying slogan. Why is this the case?

Among a range of factors, the US school curriculum, with its emphasis on history and civic issues, along with the ethos surrounding "saluting the flag," develops a cluster of values that are frequently talked up by a range of societal leaders, from the president down.

God is also frequently acknowledged in public in American settings - "God bless America" is often chorused. This gives recognition to the spiritual side of people.

New Zealanders could learn a lot from Americans in their upfront acknowledgement of the spiritual dimension of their lives, whether they are Buddhist, Muslim, Baha'i, Christians or whatever.

An analysis of the values we strongly exhibit in this country, and which are significant, include fairness, practicality, hospitality, decency, orderliness, tolerance, community involvement, get-up-and-go attitudes, volunteerism, trust and caring for one another.

Underneath all of this is our romance with the country's stunning beauty and the opportunities we have to do whatever we like.

Our wide open spaces are a way into who we are as a people. It causes us to pause and reflect: What is all this? Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?

Unfortunately, for too many people, this is as far as it goes, yet it is part of who we are as citizens of these islands. It defines who we are in many ways.

Developing a set of values in any human setting requires leadership to make them explicit and to progress them. If American presidents can frequently pull their nation together by using inclusive terms like "fellow Americans," it behoves our political leaders to talk up our nation's values by placing them more in the public spotlight.

It is not a silly idea to suggest we need a Minister for New Zealand Identity. Such a person could help to galvanise all the intangible building blocks we have and slowly mould attitudes and publicly reinforce those values which most of the nation agree on.

There is no use saying we are too reticent as people to do such things. Such reticence has been part of the problem.

The Maori renaissance over the past 20 years has led the way. A national renaissance is now called for.

If our young people are going to have a sense of meaning, belonging and purpose in their lives they require a framework of solid, enduring values. Life in a globalised world needs to provide strong roots for every citizen so they have a national as well as an international identity.

* Patrick Lynch is chief executive of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office.

Herald Online feature: Common core values

We invite to you to contribute to the debate on core values. E-mail dialogue@herald.co.nz.