Bombing Disneyland
I love days laden with a special irony Like today: the 53rd anniversary of the opening of Disneyland and the 63rd anniversary of the detonation of the atomic bomb in Alamagordo, NM. Perhaps it's the juxtaposition of the two that makes America seem so...schizophrenic. Unbridled love and unrelenting hate. One is more fantasy than reality while the other one is more reality than fantasy. And America not only revels in the dichotomy, it SELLS it! We build love-filled theme parks in other countries while selling missiles to their potential enemies. "Crazy Americans," used to get a jovial laugh, but now it instills fear and distrust.
Here is a very insightful snippet from the reaction to 9/11:
From the Shalom Center. Org
"Are they bombing Disneyland?": The Children's Truth
By Ched Myer
A friend of mine who teaches in the local public school reported that this was the first question asked her by third graders the morning of September 11th, as the news of the terrorist attacks filtered out across the social landscape of America.
Reflecting on that throughout the following days, I concluded that once again the children have pointed us to the truth.
Insofar as "the magic Kingdom" can stand in as a preeminent metaphor for the insular fantasy of American innocence and denial — our myth of the nation as Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland all at once, the happiest place on earth — then Disneyland truly did suffer indelible destruction. But what world lies outside our shattered dream of ourselves?
But even more penetrating is the quote from Chalmers Johnson included in the piece:
"Terrorism strikes at the innocent in order to draw attention to the sins of the invulnerable. The innocent of the twenty-first century are going to harvest unexpected blowback disasters from the imperialist escapades of recent decades. Although most Americans may be largely ignorant of what was, and still is, being done in their names, all are likely to pay a steep price — individually and collectively — for their nation's continued efforts to dominate the global scene."
Imperialism, however, can be apolitical in the sense that it can be a dream of theocrats. Yes, I'm bringing Reconstructionists into the picture because they go hand-in-hand with imperialism.
Pat Robertson once said "There will never be world peace until God's house and God's people are given their rightful place of leadership at the top of the world."
Sounds like imperialism to me.
Disney's Concept Art for Pirates of the Carribbean
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