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Friday

The graduate with a Science degree from Duke asks,
"Why does it work?" Graduates with an Engineering
degree from N.C.State asks, "How does it work?"
Grads with an Accounting degree U. of Mich. asks,
"How much will it cost?" The UNC Art School graduate
asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

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Backlash: Hollywood, History -
- and the Truth

In the 1942 tearjerker NOW VOYAGER suave actor Paul Henreid says to
Bette Davis: "Shall we just have a cigarette on it?" As the two gaze
deeply into one another's eyes, Henreid puts two cigarettes into his
mouth, lights them, and hands one to Davis.

It was considered the ultimate in sophisticated romance.

Flash forward fifty-seven years. In the hit comedy MY BEST FRIEND'S
WEDDING Julia Roberts sits on the floor outside a hotel room, smoking
an illicit cigarette. Her friend yanks open the door and snatches the
cigarette from her fingers. "I want you to quit this [stuff] before it
kills you," he snarls.

It's the ultimate in social condemnation -- and a complete reversal of
the cinematic attitudes of yesteryear.

What happened between 1942 and 1997 to generate such a change? The
answer sheds a spotlight on how we may one day win the abortion debate.

As Frederica Mathewes-Green writes in a collection of essays called
THIRTY YEARS AFTER ROE V. WADE, our grandparents embraced values that
we now recognize as damaging, like cigarette smoking and heavy
drinking. Those attitudes, says Mathewes-Green, were celebrated in
movies in much the same way reckless sexual behavior is today. For
instance, in the hugely popular THIN MAN films, the heavy drinking of
both Myrna Loy and William Powell was treated as comic relief. Anyone
who objected to this view was dismissed as a moralizing busybody.

But then, something happened on the way from the bijou to the
multiplex. Americans began losing friends to lung cancer and emphysema
-- friends who smoked. And drunk drivers killed thousands of people. As
a result, cigarettes -- which kill 400,000 Americans a year -- are no
longer considered glamorous. Drinking to excess -- which kills 100,000
more -- is no longer considered funny. And for the most part, Hollywood
has stopped suggesting that they are.

It's important to understand, Matthews-Green points out, that it wasn't
all those warning labels on cigarette packages that got people to quit
smoking. And it wasn't the Temperance Union that convinced people to
stop getting drunk. It was truth itself and social pressure.

And that's where the abortion debate comes in. Modern films portray
sexual romps as great fun -- the height of hipness. Those who object
are dismissed as moralizing busybodies. But just as media messages
about drinking and smoking were gradually replaced with healthier
messages, we will one day see changes in how Hollywood portrays
sexuality, predicts Mathewes-Green. This will happen as more and more
people are harmed by promiscuous behavior, watch friends die of AIDS,
and see sisters, daughters, and girlfriends harmed or even killed by
so-called "safe, legal abortions."

So, yes indeed, we should keep talking about the horrors of abortion,
its impact on future pregnancies, and its link to depression and breast
cancer. We should do so knowing we will be mocked and maligned. But we
should also have hope, for the day will surely come when abortion won't
be portrayed as a noble decision by brave women who are harassed by
right wing, religious crazies.

Eventually, the truth will out -- and we'll see it even when we go to
the movies.

"BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a daily commentary
on news and trends from a Christian perspective.
Heard on more than 1000 radio outlets nationwide,
BreakPoint transcripts are also available on the Internet.

As you read the Scriptures with your family, I hope
you'll have a new appreciation for who the "Word made
flesh" really is: He's the Creator who existed before time.
He's the Logos Who made heaven and earth, and Who
steers the stars in their courses. He is the Truth that is
ultimate reality. He is the 'Babe of Bethlehem & the
'Word' of John 1. If you know of others who would
enjoy receiving BreakPoint in their E-mail box each
day, tell them they can sign up 1-800-457-6125.

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