There is a lot of ignorance and arrogance being played out by our Prime Minister and other world leaders, writes Ruta Mave.

Ignorance refers to a lack of knowledge or information while arrogance is an inflated sense of one’s own importance and abilities often accompanied by a belief that one knows more than others. 

Ignorance is like darkness, once the light comes on it is removed. Knowledge, truth and understanding can remove ignorance. The red state voters in America may have been ignorant of the true agenda of Donald Trump vowing to rid the country of illegal immigrants calling them criminals. Now, after undocumented workers have been rounded up on farms and in hotels, MAGA voters who supported these actions have lost 70-100 per cent of their workers. Consequently, food is rotting unpacked, animals are roaming unattended and rooms remain unclean.

Our immigration ministry might want to learn and take note when setting our policies.

Arrogant people behaviour suggests they believe they are superior to others and is displayed as being dismissive, condescending, over confident, an overbearing excessive form of pride, involving a close minded and unwilling to learn or listen superiority.

Arrogance is fueled by a need for constant validation and a desire to maintain an elevated status, often at the expense of others. The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. Ignorance is bliss, arrogance is manipulation. The playing out of arrogant male egos in the greater world is tipping towards a major conflict crisis that threatens war.

On a smaller scale of people and mindsets, we have Prime Minister Mark Brown once more bringing attention to himself by embarrassing us as a nation. He bellows about a partnership, not paternalism because New Zealand have taken his pocket money? What else did he expect when he brings nothing to the table.

It requires a certain abundance of arrogance, ignorance and insecurity to not only lack the decency to apologise for your negative words and actions but to also victimise yourself due to others’ reactions of the process.

When someone is unwilling to accept responsibility for their actions, they will put the blame on others or try to deflect attention from themselves by pointing out totally unrelated information about others whether it is true or not.

Partnerships are a collaborative relationship often with shared responsibilities and resources aiming to achieve common goals. Is the PM arrogant to think he contributes on an equal basis?

New Zealand is also to blame for indulging in their favourite child, spoiling him with pocket money for no extra chores except keeping his room tidy. Time and time again they kept throwing money his way with no accountability of how it is finally used compared to how it was promised to be used. Blind trust or turning a blind eye has been the downfall of many a parent. The unfortunate reality is once it is realised and steps and measures are asked for and explanations are asked for regarding their behaviour and messy state of their room with their dirty laundry out for everyone to see, the brat reacts childishly and goes to find a new friend or family who will understand him and keep him in the manner he has become accustomed to.

The Cook Islands-NZ partnership is an 80/20 split where NZ has 80 per cent of our people and pays 100 per cent of their welfare. Mark Brown has 15,000 people to look after, with $10-20 million each year from NZ as a gift, over 100,000 tourists visit every year spending approximately $2000 each and another $256 million in taxes each year and he can’t fix one 30km ring road all the way around the island of Rarotonga. Nor can he fund adequate police, teachers or nurses to work here. He’s even managed to make a mess of the upgrade of the water system, almost tripling the budget but also failing to maintain its existence via the successful taxpayer system.

They say the first 40 years are the hardest of parenthood. If we are so able and in charge of our own destiny why have our people in a single generation become so obese? Gone are the days we were fit and free growing produce and industry. Under CIP government, we have become the leading nation of child obesity in the world while losing our ability to grow our own food.

We are going to celebrate 60 years of independence by throwing millions into set dressing the Avarua township with curved concrete balustrades that are definitely colonial. A testament to all that our independence represents, too much money and no idea how to manage it.