Propaganda and Vaping

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

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Good Morning and Welcome to this week’s Gospel and Culture update, by Alan Vink
Propaganda and Vaping
Tuesday 16th May 2023

Propaganda (and the weaponisation of Language).

POV. The dictionary defines propaganda as information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view. For example, Adolf Hitler said, “with the right use of propaganda we can make heaven appear like hell and hell appear like heaven”. He went on to say, “The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan.

Propaganda can be used and is used to manipulate people's perceptions and beliefs, potentially leading them to view positive things as negative and negative things as positive. In other words propaganda is used to not only manipulate people’s view of reality but to get everyday people to be comfortable to live with a lie(s). The purpose of propaganda is to shape peoples view of reality so much so that even when presented with a mountain of evidence they will not change their minds. So, men can have babies….too, or a teenager can be a cat….you know, and asking for a menu at your local restaurant is…….well……completely unacceptable.

As weird as all that is it is only a small step away from the neo-liberals using language as a weapon.

If you are pro-life you are a women hater
If you believe in strong borders you are a racist
If you disagree with same-sex marriage you are bigot and a homophobe.

Christians. Please don’t be duped. Don’t buy the lies. Stand strong!

The Vaping Epidemic

Vaping or e-cigarettes were introduced as a tool for the ‘cessation of smoking’. According to John O’Connell, CEO of Life Education Trust NZ and many other health advocates we now have a vaping epidemic in NZ.

In 2018, 2% of 15-year-olds vaped daily. Fast forward to today’s 15-year-olds and the dramatic uptake in vaping as outlined by the ASH Year 10 Snapshot survey, sees 20% of 15-year-olds as daily vapers The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation concur with these numbers. Regular vaping for Māori girls continues to be the highest group. In 2018, just 2%, only 4 years later 20%.

Let’s be clear. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances available and big tobacco is without a doubt behind this. FDA Denies Authorization to Market JUUL Products | FDA Therefore, we in NZ should follow Australia’s recent example and only make e-cigarettes available on a Doctors prescription.

Headlines Only

Brian Tamaki. Newshub Nation on Saturday covered a 10 minute interview with Prof Peter Lineham about Brian Tamaki’s political ambitions once again for this year elections. It starts at 16 mins. There will be a lot more to say about this when things become clearer in a few months.

I Am’ Docuseries is a local TV series in which New Zealanders tell their stories of survival. I watched the first series last year and found it very good (and helpful) viewing. It is at times a moving insight into people’s struggles as they honestly share their stories. Very good viewing for Pastors. TV1 on Tuesdays at 8.30pm.

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