An effect from much of the societal change, particularly in relation to race relations and the empowerment of other minorities, is that it removes the ability to blame somebody else. In the case of South Africa, which I mentioned earlier, many blamed the apartheid for all of their woes, but once that was gone and their situation didn't improve they didn't have that excuse any more. It will take time for people to deal with that, and the signs are that this is happening in South Africa now. The same thing has happened here in NZ too. I probably need to give you a brief history lesson since most of you will be unaware of the politics of a small pacific nation. When the British took over NZ they did not defeat the indigenous Maori people, but rather signed a treaty with them, although they didn't do a very good job of sticking to the terms of that treaty. In recent years the Maori tribes have been handed either large cash settlements and/or previously government owned land holdings to compensate for the loss of their legal rights. Many Maori used to say they were disadvantaged due to the fact that their Treaty of Waitangi rights were not being honoured. They no longer have that excuse and some are struggling to deal with that.

I know many of you do not like Obama winning the presidency, but I think one positive that will come from it is that many black Americans will no longer have the excuse that they can't succeed due to the white man's government keeping them down. It will take time for that change to filter through society though.