Election 2023: It’s time to break the dinner table rules and talk politics

Serve a side of democracy at the table this week, writes Ilona Hanne.

OPINION

Always pass salt, bread etc to your right. Keep your elbows off the table. Spoon your soup away from you.

Yes, let’s talk about dinner table etiquette. Actually, this week, let’s break it.

No, I am not asking you to rebel and pass the bread to the left, nor would I like you to start using a knife to cut your bread rather than tear it into small, bite-size pieces, but I would like you to break what is perhaps a very old, very firm rule at dining tables and dinner parties across the country, or even the world.

Let’s start talking politics at the table.

I know, it’s so rebellious. Next I will be asking you to place your handbag on the table or get your mobile phone out mid-meal. I won’t, I promise, but I do wish more people would consider talking about politics.

I am not suggesting debates, or angry fist-thumping diatribes about specific policies here. I am suggesting however, that it isn’t actually terribly infra dig to mention the fact we have a general election in just a few days.

While it may be wise to keep your personal political opinion to yourself when at a dinner party or event, there is no reason we shouldn’t be talking about the fact we are voting, and why we should be voting for that matter. We don’t have “I voted” stickers this year to proudly wear and show we have ticked off our civic (and I would argue ethical and moral) duty and had our say, but we do have the ability to tell people.

Tell your friends, your neighbours and the random person you have been placed by at your friend’s birthday dinner that you have, or intend to, vote. While you are at it, ask them if they will be voting.

Because, while the way you eat your soup may not change anything (other than how much mess you make on that ridiculously white tablecloth), your vote will.

I don’t care how you vote, or who gets your ticks on the day. I care that you vote. I care that you care enough about our country, our future and my children’s future, to have your say.

In 2020′s general election our country had an 82.2 per cent voter turnout. Not bad, it was the third consecutive increase in voter turnout for general elections in fact, but it’s not exactly a Michelin star for voting in Aotearoa New Zealand.

So perhaps it’s time to swap out the standard dinner conversations about the weather, the price of eggs, great-aunt Rita’s health, your daughter’s university plans and so on, and move on to talking about politics. After all, all those traditional topics do come back to politics in one way or another. Climate change, cost of living, health, education.

Whether it’s a family barbecue or pizza tonight, drinks out with friends or dinner in with the family, serve up a side of political conversation over the next few days, and encourage all your dining companions to enjoy a slice of democracy and have their say on who gets to sit at the decision-making table for the next three years.