Jay Kuten: Neither nation nor flag for sale

BAD SPORTS: Selling the Lockwood flag like Weet-Bix, or a sporting event pennant, demonstrates its essential meaninglessness.

COMING FROM Boston, where bare-knuckle politics is considered high art, I view the rise of Donald Trump as simply the culmination of attack politics and smear campaigns orchestrated for decades by the same Republican Establishment figures who now decry the destruction of their party.

From my perspective it's pigeons come home to roost.

Within a culture of civility, New Zealand politics ought, I had hoped, to be above resorting to the low road. I was momentarily taken aback by the mud slinging on the TPP protesters and the flag opponents by John Key and his local surrogate, Chester Borrows. Chester doubled down, creating a false narrative of violence by protesters with a rock throwing that never happened except in his own words.

Either the virus of Trumpism has migrated here or, more likely, these shoddy tactics are the brain children of political trickster advisers, like Crosby Textor, an Aussie firm with a reputation for attack-dog politics and right-wing associations with the like of Tony Abbott.

The smearing of political opponents is a perverse application of the conditioning techniques devised by the Russian, Ivan Pavlov, on dogs and elaborated on pigeons through the operant conditioning of the American BF Skinner.

Smear campaigns are intended to delegitimise an opponent's position by casting false or exaggerated aspersions on her character. The opponent expends herself defending against an impossible negative ("No. I'm not an axe murderer.") and never gets to articulate substantive policy differences. Smear campaigns are designed to depress voter turnout of the undecided who are disgusted by this ugliness. The already committed partisans then vote and carry the day.

Key et al don't want to argue on substance. They just want to say "trade" and "jobs".

The TPP is a flawed document. In the name of "trade" which is predicted to rise negligibly (0.9 per cent by 2030), we open ourselves to the dominance of foreign (US-based but multinational) corporations.

Under ISDS (Investor State Dispute Settlement) process, corporations may sue New Zealand if our regulations threaten their otherwise expected corporate profit. The money damages and/or threat of suit by these economic giants would likely force us to change the established controls we have on New Zealand pharmaceutical costs, labour and safety regulations, farming practices, and environmental protections.

We could not sue corporations for damage they do to our land or people. And as there are no appeals under ISDS, this is binding arbitration.

For a clear and concise description of the potential danger TPP poses to our health and access to reasonably priced medication, I recommend the letter (Chronicle, March 4) by Des Healy, Pharmacist, Central City Pharmacy.

The flag campaign is yet another version of manipulative politics. Mr Key began with a design competition to manufacture the competitive excitement of a sporting event. The lack of public enthusiasm for the Lockwood design, which Lizzi Marvelly has unfavourably compared to a tea towel, forced the campaign to get endorsements from celebrities, just as you would if you're selling sneakers. Selling the Lockwood flag like Weet-Bix, or a sporting event pennant, demonstrates its essential meaninglessness.

I would have expected better from Richie McCaw, a man who unites the country in shared love of rugby. Letting himself be used in this divisive stunt is saddening. Especially as the Key campaign uses surrogates to make the further divisive and derogatory claim that opponents of the Lockwood flag are only motivated by disliking John Key. Untrue.

By contrast, we have a flag that unites us, one that bears the weight of tradition and history. It has flown over our ceremonies in peace and our battlefields in war. Our brave men and women who died in our wars have died under that flag

New Zealanders deserve better treatment than to be regarded as if still in kindy - or worse being dealt to in the manner of laboratory dogs or pigeons. As adults we can choose, and in that choice say, our country's not for sale, nor is our flag.

-Jay Kuten is an American-trained forensic psychiatrist who immigrated to New Zealand for the fly fishing. He spent 40 years comforting the afflicted and intends to spend the rest afflicting the comfortable.