By Ukes Baha | 2025
Erosion does not start with governments. It begins with people. When individuals let go of values and act out of selfish gain, fear, or desperation, society weakens from within. From that weakness come the politicians, the officers, the officials — who then mirror what we have become.
A government made of corrupt individuals will always be corrupt. A society driven by selfishness cannot produce justice. And when the people themselves abandon values, their leaders will always sell out — to money, to power, to external agendas.
Yes, there are monsters. Global powers that feed on division, strip cultures of their roots, and weaken societies until they are desperate, needy, and void of values. These external systems thrive by eroding families, identities, and communities — making people easier to control.
But the monsters can only succeed when we open the door. They exploit our weakness, not our strength. They prey on our desperation, not our unity. And when we are hollow within, we will sell ourselves, our country, and our future to the highest bidder.
Jacinda Ardern may have been groomed and sponsored. Christopher Luxon may appear polished and globalised. But both are still from the people. And like too many others, they became leaders ready to sell New Zealand to foreign agendas for their own gain.
This is not because they were exceptions — but because they were reflections. When values decay at the ground level, sellouts rise to the top. From police enforcing instructions without conscience, to soldiers killing strangers for salaries, to politicians selling policies for profit — the pattern is the same.
Our leaders are not apart from us. They are us. And until we change, nothing changes.
Society’s corruption mirrors personal corruption. Addictions, dishonesty, greed, selfishness — these are not private flaws, but seeds of decay that spread into the collective. When enough individuals fall, the whole structure collapses.
To fight corruption only at the top while ignoring the erosion within ourselves is hypocrisy. If we cannot hold values in our personal lives, how can we expect them in our public life?
To change society, we must first confront our own flaws. A strong person builds a strong family; strong families build strong communities; and strong communities resist decay.
The path forward is not just resistance — it is renewal. Look within, fix within. Heal our corruptions, confront our addictions, rebuild our values.
When we are strong within, external monsters cannot break us. When we hold to values, leaders cannot sell us out. When we unite, society cannot be divided by foreign agendas.
A society grounded in values cannot be bought. A society driven by selfishness can only decay.
Erosion begins with us. But so does restoration.