Democracy is based on the fundamental principle of free and true speech within public domains.
This does not justify, however, the haemorrhage of hate-filled narratives we are seeing permeate mainstream political debate across the world.
The consequences of allowing this rhetoric to grow are already being felt in America and Britain, with the rise of Trump and Brexit.
And as New Zealand enters its election season, it is imperative that we do not allow our own politics to slip into the same state of disarray.
In recent elections we have seen an unacceptable pattern targeting racial minority groups, leaving the targeted groups feeling vulnerable, and those who hold racist beliefs thinking that their unfounded feelings are justified.
In France, the leader of the socialist party described a shop designed specifically to welcome Muslim customers as ''Reinforcing the apartheid that had been allowed to take root''.
In America, Donald Trump regularly refers to Latino people as ''Bad Hombres'' or attempts to ban people from countries targeting specific religious majorities.
It is a worldwide trend where politicians distract voters from the local issues that potentially pose a tangible threat to them, and instead attempt to win favour by exploiting the irrational fears of the public.
This year, New Zealanders must remain vigilant and not allow our standard of debate to slip from either side of the political spectrum.
In 2015, Labour attempted to analyse overseas homeowner numbers in Auckland city by looking at those with ''Chinese sounding last names''.
This was, and is, unacceptable. New Zealand made that clear at the time.
When groups are targeted unfairly, it is our responsibility to tell those responsible that it is not OK.
Write letters, call your regional representatives, or simply do not vote for the party responsible.
The damaging behaviours that have been normalised in overseas politics cannot be tolerated within our discourse.
Effective discourse can only be had, however, in an environment where the Government can be relied upon to maintain a level of compassion and honesty, which in a world of ''alternative facts'' and ''fake news'' is getting harder to find.
This drives mistrust from the public towards governing bodies as a whole, leading to lower participation in helping craft the policies that affect them the most.
Furthermore, it drives resentment between political parties, which becomes dangerous when it makes electing someone with no experience more appealing than an overqualified woman from the opposite party.
Rather than asking that our politicians maintain the low standard of not being blatantly racist, we as a country must demand that our politicians act with dignity, integrity and nuance.
It is possible, because good democracy produces a government with a desire to do what's best for their people.
Voting is a power and a privilege.
When the entire country has the trust in the system to participate, we have the power to drive the change we want to see in the world.
Across the western world, there has been a dangerous shift and the standard of political discourse has been lowered.
However, these changes hold valuable lessons for New Zealand to avoid falling into the same trap in the upcoming election season.
Only time will tell whether we are prepared to take the action necessary to maintain and improve the way our politics runs.
