Cultural Laundering

The world offers its solutions to the dilemmas we face as a result of its fallenness - but if we're reliant on the world's ideas, we miss what God is wanting to do. 1st Corinthians 3 tells us:
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness";
20 and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."

To relieve the pain and frustration of our humanity, people make the mistake of relying on inferior ideas and powerless principles. The emptiness inside produces a desire to do better, be better, but the Bible teaches us that in and of ourselves, we cannot truly accomplish those goals.  It is by recognizing our sinfulness, our brokenness, our departure from the ways of God, that we can truly come to know true love and peace in Christ. The world's promises and philosophies are fruitless - the wisdom of Scripture is the key.
 

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Because we belong to Christ, we have the ability and responsibility to walk according to His principles. Colossians 2 states:
6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Face it, there are powerful cultural influencers who do not share our values. We have to be discerning in our entertainment choices, and be able to navigate in the Spirit those decisions.

I would think that long-time Disney fans have to be concerned about the direction of its company and the content that it is producing. This is not necessarily a new phenomenon, but periodically, there seem to be news items emerging from the company that indicate a rejection of values that are consistent with a Christian worldview.

So, this news item is not really a surprise, but disappointing nonetheless. At Townhall.com, Todd Starnes made this sobering pronouncement:

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, an extremely popular yuletide tradition, is going to be rebranded. Instead, the Magic Kingdom will host a night time show.

The new "don't call it Christmas" event is called 'Disney Very Merriest After Hours' - a generic, holiday-themed celebration.

As Starnes points out: "Disney did not provide an explanation for the change - but in recent days the woke imagineers at the Magic Kingdom have made national headlines by culturally cleansing many popular rides."  At The Daily Wire, Megan Basham reports:

Disney theme parks have finally unveiled changes to the classic Jungle Cruise ride, and one of the company’s chief “Imagineers” argues they’re not woke, they’re necessary.

Carmen Smith, the Disney executive who heads “inclusion strategies,” told The Los Angeles Times, “When we look at something and realize the content is inappropriate, and may perpetuate a misconception or a stereotype, our intention is to take a look at it critically, and figure out a way to enhance it, to make the necessary changes so it is relevant.”

Basham states: "The Times claims the ride, which families of all ethnicities and backgrounds have enjoyed since 1955, had a 'reputation for racist depictions of Indigenous people as tourist attractions, attackers or cannibals — tribal caricatures crafted through a colonialist lens.'” She contends, "Though the Jungle Cruise will no longer feature vignettes that might offer families the opportunity to discuss real historical culture clashes, legacy media outlets are treating the changes as unequivocally positive..."

Furthermore, Starnes says:

Disney also eliminated the words "ladies and gentlemen" and "boys and girls" from recorded greetings at its theme parks.

In April, Disney announced it was adding "Inclusion" as a key component of its customer service. "We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions reflected in the stories, experiences and products they encounter in their interactions with Disney," the company said.

On top of that, Starnes notes, "And how can we forget that Disney wanted its white staffers to complete a "white privilege" training workshop."  The New York Post reported this back in May:

Disney has reportedly deleted its “diversity and inclusion” anti-racism training program following a backlash about it becoming the “wokest place on Earth.”

The webpage that previously carried the much-maligned internal training documents was down this week, replaced with a “pardon our Pixie dust” message, according to Christopher Rufo, who first reported on the training forcing staff to recognize their “white privilege.”

Signs of the times, indeed.  After all, we become more culturally sensitive by branding certain elements of history and seeking to eliminate or revise them.  And, we sterilize humor because it may offend someone.  

A "Christmas" event?  Too religious, perhaps.

"Ladies and Gentlemen"?  Too limiting, too few genders.

Rethinking rides that have been popular for years?  Too insensitive.

And, how about this one; as Starnes relates:

There was even controversy surrounding Prince Charming's life-saving kiss that awakened Snow White from her slumber. The #MeToo crowd took issue with the 'unwelcomed' smooch.

Too misogynistic.

Culture has gone stark raving mad in this terrifying ride in which people are divided into categories and turned against one another. Owen Strachan writes at the Family Research Council website regarding "critical race theory:"

According to CRT, people of color are fundamentally oppressed by white people. People of color do not live in a fair and prosperous order; they live in an environment framed by “white supremacy.” Robin DiAngelo defines such a culture as one “that positions white people and all that is associated with them (whiteness) as ideal.” According to woke voices, this condition terrorizes people of color, leaving them without agency, without justice, and without hope. Instead of teaching people that their freedom and destiny are in the hands of “white” oppressors, we do better to teach them to reject such a view, and take agency in their own life. Can “white” people wrong others? Absolutely. Is every “white” person a “white supremacist”? Absolutely not.

So, the self-appointed cultural cleansers have taken it upon themselves to create a new order of society by turning people against one another and against the institutions that are perceived to be by-products of what they deem to be "white supremacy."  Part of the new Marxist dream is to tear down institutions, create chaos, and replace the old with a new, more enlightened vision - I would contend that's why you eliminate "Christmas," a bastion of the old order, so that you can replace the old, stale Judeo-Christian ideas with new ones which promote human flourishing - without God.  As Strachan points out in his FRC piece, the goal of Marxism is to create utopia - which "is not possible." 

This runs counter to the Biblical viewpoint, in which we don't foster division by labels or immuatable characteristics, but recognize all people as created in the image of God.  And, we live in a fallen world, but one day, there will be a utopia, of sorts - not created by human hands or human wisdom, but by the King of the Universe, the Messiah, who will wipe every tear for eyes. It's far better than Marxism or socialism could ever imagine. But, we arrive in that place by humbling ourselves before an Almighty God, who made it possible for us to experience salvation by humbling Himself to the point of death.  Praise His holy name!