Jake Bailey: Red or blue, we're still leading

The mass shooting in Las Vegas reminds us that this country's gun laws are sensible. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

With uncertainty still in the air following the election, it's fair to say that politics has continued to be the hot topic of dinner table and water cooler discussion.

The tension of election night has been suspended in the air for much longer than expected, and will continue to be so until there's a path forward forged, presumably.

But regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, it seems to me that this week has been an especially good week to be a Kiwi.

While there will certainly be some out there living in trepidation of what the next government might mean for their future, there have been a few eye-openers overseas this week which have caught my attention, and made me grateful that regardless of who we see as the winner of this election, we will be in comparatively safe hands.

It's drawn me back from the left and right, and made me focus on the here and now. I reckon we're doing pretty well.

Be it in Australia, where there's just been NZ$132 million spent on a postal vote regarding the same-sex marriage law change.

The equivalent of a non-binding referendum, coming at the same cost as educating 4500 new nurses, or the salaries for 1900 teachers - it makes you wonder doesn't it.

New Zealand being the first country in Oceania to legalise same-sex marriage is a feather that sits nicely in our cap, regardless of where you stand on the issue, because it has positioned us as world leaders in a turning tide.

We will always be known as forward thinkers in the inevitable future. Our neighbours seem to be tripping over their feet.

Or in Saudi Arabia, where they've only just granted women the right to drive - although with the caveat that they must have their husband's permission to get a licence, and permission before every trip they make.

It's something that I doubt we can fully comprehend, it is that foreign to our world. It seems lazy to even try to draw the comparison, but it's worth keeping in mind the plight that others face out of our sight, regardless of whether we can picture it or not.

Or tragically in Las Vegas, where it was even a possibility for a piece of scum to unload 10,000 rounds into hundreds of people.

The knowledge that it couldn't happen here is a blessing that we overlook. Our gun control laws are sensible, reasonable, practical, and most importantly, we were on top of them before it reached an unmanageable state. We don't live in fear, and that's worth more than we can imagine.

A few weeks back was the 124th anniversary of us giving women the right to vote. The first country in the world. It just wraps it all up nicely I think.

My point is that we are on the right side of history, and we are a team that I'm really proud to be part of.

We're just a bloody good bunch of people - that's the only sensible way to put it. We all get on pretty well.

The political divisions we have are small, our quarrels and trials are generally minor, especially against the backdrop of whatever is going on in the northern hemisphere at any given moment.

Our distinct lack of protests, relatively speaking, is not a sign of laziness or cold weather, but rather that we're doing pretty well and all getting along.

I'm not saying things are perfect at all - there are many issues that I'm passionate about where I feel progress is behind, many of which I've written about. But I just feel proud to be a part of a country that is, on the whole, so cohesive, unified, and successful. We are the winners.

So let's push forward and continue this progress. We are leaps and bounds ahead of our peers, and it is that which we want to be known for.

We might be small, but we are leading from the back, and we are a shining example as to what a successful country can be.

I'm confident that regardless of blue or red, we will continue to be so, and that makes us pretty fortunate citizens.