Disney, DeSantis, Divisiveness and Education (Random Thoughts on the mess)

 

For certain I have not blogged my thoughts in a very long time.  It seems like more and more media, social media especially, has gone more TikTok, 30 second sound bytes than the written word of late.  So, in a way, the medium I have chosen to encapsulate my thoughts is also indicative of my age as much as what I am about to write. 

I still enjoy reading very much, and still much prefer print or written word journalism and commentary to the snips and clips which have propagated over the internet like a horde of bunnies with an infinite supply of Viagra and fertility drugs.  There are times for that, but that just isn’t in my wheelhouse.  I have a face for radio and a voice for authoring.  😊

So, what possible take might one have for the ongoing feud in the media between the Florida Governor and Disney?  For me, it summarizes the problem with our culture almost perfectly.  It has pushed traditional party lines to their nearly polar opposites all in the cause of superficially looking good to a constituency. 

Disney, the mega corporation who owns theme parks, and has a huge media empire, would usually be the darling of the right, providing thousands of jobs and keeping an entertainment area of the economy humming right along.  They would be the bane of the traditional left, because they have super greedy CEO types and executives getting paid WAY more than the standard employee and they have exploited the land by cutting down all those trees and building on vast acres of land, and paving it with asphalt.  Furthermore, the park they built caters to the more well-to-do families around the world, and they certainly don’t cater to the less well off children of the world who’ families can’t afford to drop $1-2K on a vacation. 

Yet, the roles are reversed.  The right is throwing dirt on Disney, and the left is wrapping them in robes of virtue.  Man the world is totally out of whack! 

First of all, let me say, I like the idea the Florida government is at least taking some action to perhaps remove some amazingly one-sided agreements made with a corporation to pretty much run their own government on their property.  I don’t like it when local and state governments make too sweet a deal with a company to bring jobs to an area.  Sure, there need to be incentives from time to time, but such efforts need to be balanced and well designed to prevent shifting the costs of all the efforts to bring jobs to the area to the already existing taxpayers in said area.  What I don’t like is the motivation behind such a move is strictly political in nature, and very likely just theater designed to boost some poll numbers for a while and assuage someone who is butt hurt that a company would publicly call them on a policy. 

However, I am also of the thought Disney should have kept its mouth SHUT over the policy.  There was no need to pad their ‘woke’ resume further, they already have been fairly supportive and open in their policies towards the modern movement on identity and sexuality, and quite honestly, with respect to their status as a theme park catering to children, I would say, they have been great at simply not introducing politics to the younger generation who simply wants a place to enjoy escaping from the divisive real world we live in. 

So, as usual, here I am seemingly trying very hard to straddle a line. The difference is, I am not doing so for political favor or gain, I just enjoy balance in the world and prefer it be coupled with large amounts of common sense, less drama (for drama’s sake), and without me seemingly having to choose a side on every freaking topic. 

We can be supportive of gender identity and sexual identity in this world without having to talk or tell school children in elementary schools to choose sides.  I would prefer honestly a bit more focus on math, reading, science, handwriting and a dose of the arts and leave the red flag, blue flag, decide now who you want to marry/shack up with when your older for a more appropriate age. 

But, this now dives in the pool of education, and this is where the real angst is festering.  There is no doubt the world of teaching has shifted hard into the political arena, and there is no doubt that such a movement has left the state of American education in a decaying state.  I don’t think anyone could make a compelling argument that we are far better educated and better off today than at any time in history.  That is not a slight against teachers in the least by the way.  Sure there are bad apples, but mostly it is the fact that politicians and activists have infected the entire education sector and that the pissing contest between those groups and parents have left kids today with a shell of what they should be getting in the way of education. 

Most of our kids teachers were awesome as our kids grew up.  Some went to the point of inspiring them to do better, to learn about the topics they taught and they were truly a blessing to them and those who were fortunate enough to have them.  There were surely some who were there to teach to the tests, and famously told us once at a parent-teacher conference at Buck Lake Elementary they had no time to teach hand writing, they had to prep the kids for the test at the end of the year.  Not teach our kids the subject matter, nope the statement was exact, teach to the test.  The blame their lies with the administration, the policies that created that mess, and I still would contend that lady herself as a teacher.  She wasn’t a teacher, she was a test prep tutor.  But, to her credit, she was honest.  I reserve judgement on whether she would have been much better had the test thing not been a factor, she might have been an okay teacher, but truth is, in my eyes, she was just an adult in the room while the kids were at school. 

We did have some teachers who did truly cross the line too though.  Amanda famously once brought home an assignment to write a letter to our local county commission about the egregious decision to allow a Walmart to be built at the corner of Buck Lake Rd and Mahan.  The teacher wanted to send the letter to the board. As I recall, Donna sent Amanda my way, and gave her a warning.  😊 

In fairness, I had been waiting for this.  I had told the kids from time to time you will be faced with a situation where you will have to choose between your grade and what is right, and to simply recognize those situations and be prepared to choose.  Here it was. Amanda asked for help in writing it, and I started with the question of what side to support.  My memory is she asked, "What did I mean?" I said, look at the issue.  Sure, it is not great to simply chop down hundred of trees and pave a parking lot and a store, but what are the pros and cons? 

The teacher had not discussed that.  Well, did the teacher own the land?  No.  Did the teacher make any effort to purchase the land over the past 20 years or work with a group to buy the land to be able to own it and use as they liked?  No. Is it okay for your teacher to tell us what we can do on our property, which trees we can cut down and what we do with the yard?  Those are more knee jerk questions, but it opened the door.  I went further.  Trees are nice, but what about when they are getting old and going to be a fire hazard or just rot and fall down.  Would it not be better to harvest them and use them to make say, desks for students, furniture, framing for houses?  A shame trees can’t be replanted and grow again.  Oh wait, they are renewable.  Yes, they take time to plant, cultivate and grow.  What about the jobs that will be created?  No, they won’t be the greatest of jobs, but many high school, college students and young adults needing plain ol’ work experience can get it there.  That is a plus right?  What about the much shorter drive for groceries, household staples and the like for those of us who live nearby?  Would it save on burning gas to go across town?  Would it eliminate the need to have bigger roads so we can get across town to said stores?  But also, having a store there would likely lead to an increase in traffic in our area, and likely we would see an uptick in crime (shoplifting if nothing else).  There were so many more questions which could rightfully have been asked in the whole pros/cons debate.

Of course, the lessons I taught that night were not just to ask those questions, but also to never ask Dad about an assignment again.  😊   I simply wanted to show her in that moment, something like that is not a clear right and wrong.  There is a scale and things need to be weighed before making a judgement.  Emotion is not really one of those major items in the equation.  I also explained it was a great lesson in human nature, for this teacher was exerting an undue influence on her students by trying to manipulate students into supporting her particular view.  I left it with this, write what you like, but understand the real reason for this assignment is to further the teacher’s desired view only. She wanted to control how the area would be used, by having a government bully tell others what they could and could not do with the land and she simply wanted the area we lived it to follow her ideal, end of discussion.  My only major tiff with that teacher was the manipulation of the kids.  But, she also provided a great lesson in life to Amanda.  We will all have bullies at work, around us who try to impose their will on others and we must all learn to recognize it and not just accept it and give in.  And I told her, if you need the A, write what you were asked.  It doesn't mean you have to agree with it, but also understand, never let someone else tell you what to say or think and just follow like a sheep.  Think for yourself, and ask yourself why the teacher chose to approach the situation the way they did, was that the best way to teach her students?  Always look beneath the surface and try to see the bigger picture.

Wow, I digressed some.  My main point was this.  We should question our governments giving away too many freebies, tax dollars and free passes on rules and regulations all the rest of us have to live by, and we should also hold our education officials and teachers to task with some tough standards.  We need to pay teachers more and respect them more, while also getting politicians and special interest groups the hell outta the education sector.  We also need parents on board to help reinforce lessons from school because the education of our children is not the responsibility of the government or just a parent, it is a partnership of the two. 

So long story short, we have another mess.  The hope I have for this is some lessons can be learned on how NOT to do many things.  To me, companies should be a little more quiet on political matters, and if the employees have a problem, they are blessed to live in a society where they can quit and go to another place which shares their values if they are unhappy.  If companies want to be more vocal, then by all means, strap in, the road will be bumpy, and it is well within your right to take the bumpy road.  It is also well within my right to not want to work there and deal with the mood swings. 

Politicians need…well lets be real, a complete overhaul, but that sadly is not going to happen any time soon.  Get back to worrying about things like balancing a budget so the money our kids earn might actually be worth something one day, so they could consider buying a home and raising a family rather than watching the cost of housing and goods simply slide further and further away from being reachable.  Worry about getting standardized tests off the altar of education and simply use them as a tool among many to measure progress.  And Disney?  I will admit I am not a fan. 

Here is a simple chart showing the various rates of inflation from 1971 to 2022:

Normal consumer inflation          609%*
Disney Admission Ticket          3,728%
Housing                                        669%*
Higher Education                       1,586%*
Medical Care                              1,591%*
Food and Beverages                     604%*

All of those inflation numbers are courtesy of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Disney rate was simple (1971 cost of adult ticket=$3.50, today=$134 Tier3)

Disney is simply displaying a level of greed and exclusivity in the theme park arena that has made the cost to simply enter the park almost outpace the combined rate of inflation of medical care, higher education and housing!  There is so much more to it than just that, I mean, a service is generally worth what someone will pay for it.  But to stay on property, they charge premium rates to stay in a hotel that is basically the Holiday Inn of my youth, but charge me a 4 star hotel price.  Once upon a time the service aspect might have made that seem okay, but today, there is simply no way one can mount a reasoned defense of their pricing versus the value other than the brand name. 

In a way, I tip my hat to them.  You get people to pay $134 to get in, $20 for parking, inflated food costs, and $180 for a 1970s hotel experience (albeit nearby the park) and all for the honor of waiting 90 minutes or more for the best rides!  I will say while I view it as so not worth it, someone from Disney should be teaching marketing in higher ed.  Of course, then the cost of higher ed will likely grow even more out of control. 

Sigh. Done.  My point in all of this was to just put some thoughts on virtual paper.  I am not trying to rally anyone to a cause, I just wanted to reflect on some recent events and if anyone else has a take on the topic they want to share, hopefully they will do the same.  It is how I weigh my own views over time, by seeking out other thoughts and opinions on relevant topics of the day. 

In closing, I hope when it is all said and done, Disney will improve their experience and maybe one day become something reasonable in terms of cost,  Maybe education can find its way back to its main mission and away from those who seek to exploit the environment to indoctrinate or impose their particular viewpoint on the students and institutions (whatever those views might be).  And for me, I will certainly be writing my next bit on the upcoming NFL Draft and not the hot button TV taking point of the day.