Trump’s latest tirade threatens New Zealand

RARELY, if ever, has New Zealand been so explicitly threatened in all but name, as by United States President Donald Trump in his latest tirade on behalf of the multibilliondollar record profitmaking US pharmaceutical industry.

His reference to ‘‘countries cheating’’ the US was a direct reference to Pharmac, which enables us Kiwis to have access to affordable medicines. It demonstrates his commitment to corporate welfare, as if Big Pharma cannot hold its own in the free market so beloved by successive US presidents.

To paraphrase Mussolini, ‘‘fascism is the merger of state and corporate power’’. Here is a textbook example.

There can be no doubt that unless Pharmac is dismantled, New Zealand’s chances of favourable trade and investment deals and exemptions (for New Zealand) with the US will not occur — not even for steel and aluminium, let alone agricultural products. Paul ElwellSutton

Haast

Trotter’s view dismays

I WAS very concerned by some of the assertions in Chris Trotter’s piece on religious teaching (ODT, 14.5.18). His characterisation of those who volunteer to teach Christian education as ‘‘fire and brimstone’’ fundamentalists has not been my experience.

When I taught religious instruction in our local primary school, we used resources provided by the Churches Education Commission, whose website Mr. Trotter may care to visit: https://cec.org.nz/

There he will find a curriculum which uses the life of Jesus to demonstrate qualities of loving others, being generous, showing respect, being slow to judge, and other such values. The actions and stories of Jesus show these in a compelling way and are part of our heritage.

Yes, boards of trustees choose to include religious instruction in the school programme but they do not choose lightly.

In one BOT meeting when I was a board member, it was a nonChristian who spoke most persuasively of allowing the programme to continue. He wanted the children to have an understanding of forgiveness, something he thought the world did not do very well.

Our children are subjected to many ideas. Those contained in the person of Jesus may be some of the most valuable of all. Frances Ross

Roslyn

I READ with some mild dismay the article by Chris Trotter (ODT, 14.5.18) so deeply concerned about the religious education currently used in primary schools.

My own experience of being educated in state British schools from 518 years of age always included prayers. School assembly at grammar school was invariably religious in nature and scripture lessons from infant school onward certainly opened my young eyes to the Bible.

Home on the other hand was totally irreligious, parents being pretty derisive of all that ‘‘stuff’’ as they put it. However, my experience over many years has been to value my knowledge of the Bible, stories from which permeate our culture, together with an appreciation of some aspects of Christian teaching, namely compassion and love.

I am not however a committed Christian, nor do I have other strictly religious views. What I am saying is that to try to remove all this cultural background and many of the Bible’s great stories and teachings from education is a mistake.

The young will take what they can from these stories and will not necessarily be pressured into fundamentalism.

A change could remove a possible pathway for some, like it or not, and this information is surely important in the light of current levels of drug taking, general risky behaviour etc by some young people.

Margaret Bannister

Dunedin