#026 - Journeys - pt. 2

JANUARY 2022

Disney on Faith

In 1963, Disney was approached by a faith-based writer, Roland Gammon, to write an article for his upcoming collection on faith, family, and prayer called Faith is a Star. I will not go into great detail because it is worth the short five-minute read, but Walt defines his legacy as one of tireless pursuit of not only national but international ideals. With the worlds and universes he and his animators created, Walt Disney empowered children to speak up, act out, and, most importantly, be kids. 

Through these animated stories, children of all ages, nationalities, and creeds were taught valuable morality lessons, and one can even argue that the cultural legacy of Walt Disney is that of Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, or even Andersen. It is no coincidence that Walt’s ideas came from the aforementioned creators. But never before had there been such broad market appeal. Never before with a targeted global audience. And never before with a foundation of faith.

Mythologies, fairy tales, legends, and folklore have been a part of human existence since man drew on cave walls. Publicists and collectors have edited and put a cultural spin on each edition to where most Grimm details are whitewashed to fit the cultural perspective of the audience. Disney used this method but placed more emphasis on light and darkness, ultimately teaching children how to recognize good from evil.

His films gathered the combined mythologies of the subject matter and placed them into a uniquely American perspective and lens, oftentimes to the detriment of the subject matter. We see this today and label it cultural appropriation, but really, if it is for the benefit of everyone, how can it hardly be? When everyone benefits, isn't that really for the best? However, not everyone benefits from cultural appropriation. I’m getting off track. I do not endorse detrimental things like that. I want to finish my Walt Disney rant with a quote from the man himself that reinforces everything I have written so far.  

Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do.           

• Walt Disney (Faith is a Star Gammon, New York E.P. Dutton & Co. 1963)

Ants are fascinating.

I moved into a new place less than a year ago, and beyond an adjustment period that has included a myriad of fun things such as trash compactors and garage gates breaking, it has been a quiet existence. Until that day, I came home to find an errant piece of garbage I had accidentally and lazily tossed on the floor covered in these tiny black specks in a frenzy—frenzied over some crumbly detritus found in an old pastry bag. Those of us who grew up in clean, pristine, God-fearing homes rarely encounter such a thing. I, having been both a college student and broke both separately and simultaneously, have always had a fascination with the mighty and resilient ant. 

Yes! I am a nerd and can spend hours researching and soaking in new knowledge about anything, especially nature and biology, and ants are nature’s little recyclers. They work day and night tirelessly to cart away all the discarded refuse of humans and aid in decomposing dead matter in an ecosystem. Along with worms and funguses, of course. They number in the millions in certain colonies, serving common purposes such as making more ants, defending and feeding the queen, and finding food sources. They can also smell sugar a mile away, and this frenzy I was witnessing was a result of hundreds of ants freaking out over a sugar cube if I were to place it in ant terms. 

I know all this because, to quote Sun Tzu, “Know thyself, Know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” I was about to engage an enemy in an all too familiar battle.

War of the Ants

There are several ways to eliminate ants, including the old-fashioned way. Knowing what ants like, how they communicate, and how they forage can help you eliminate any ant invasion. I've become a regular Dale Gribble pest exterminator. In my case, I quickly removed the garbage after dousing it with an aerosol that had a high concentration of alcohol. Since ants communicate with pheromones, it helped that I had some air freshener around the house. Most commercial cleaners will have strong scents blocking an ant from smelling a food source. The important thing is to trace the trail of ants from the food source, all while spraying and wiping the ant’s pheromone trail to your apartment or house. That way no other ants get the message that there is anything remotely good in your dwelling place. 

After wiping most of the surfaces with floor cleaner and removing any temptations that may attract ants, I began to reflect on the mindless resilience of such a species—a nuisance to me but a necessity to the balance of life we find on our planet. Without the ant’s ability to clean and process the refuse of the world, bacteria, and diseases would be more prevalent. The soil would have fewer nutrients, which would make our existence harder. They may be pests indoors and ruin picnics, but they remind me of how interwoven and interconnected everything is. Even the Bible praises the ant and its wisdom for storing food for the winter and preparing for the future (Proverbs 30:24-25).

So, as I’m cleaning up hundreds of dead ants from my latest ant-war rampage, I cannot get angry at the ant for doing its job, and neither should you. I see it as an inspiring and beautiful testament to God’s faithfulness. The ant cares not for the rat race or the fact that the crumb came from a ten-dollar croissant, only that it has a source of food that it can take to its queen to make more ants. It’s miraculous that God didn’t make humans in the form of ants but placed them on this earth as an example by which to live. I’m not endorsing communism or collective rule of humans over other humans, but we are like ants to God, our unified creator and, ultimately, to whom we live our life in service to, much like an ant to a queen.

The ant is on an endless journey and doesn’t complain. And even if there were a day when ants could evolve into some form of sentient being, perhaps they would realize it was a life for which they were innately created. Living outside of this life would cause imbalance to the ant and ultimately create unhappy ants. This is where we find ourselves as Christians when we are focused on the destination rather than the journey. It’s something that goes against an experience that God has ultimately created for all humans.

Humans are not ants and have different motivations, but the journey is combined. This journey is for everyone and continues indefinitely for those who follow Jesus. It ended rather quickly for the ants who invaded my apartment.               

Let there be legacies.

When speaking of legacies and the impact one person can make in a lifetime, the eternal legacy that every Christian inherits when they become believers is often forgotten. This legacy is for the next generation and those who inherit this world after you. Whether or not their faith is strong is a result of our eternal legacy. We hear it said countless times in evangelical sermons that life on this planet is all but a temporary passing. In theater, You Can't Take It With You. Life is but a mere sideshow in this grand eternal plan, and beyond being nearly impossible for a human mind to comprehend, it is a legacy that rarely reaps instantaneous or tangible goods. Therefore, to a modern person, why strive for a spiritual legacy when a bronze statue or palatial manor is a better way to show the importance of one’s life and the inheritance of a physical show of success? Why strive toward an eternity you cannot see, grasp, or physically comprehend?

Jesus encourages humanity to embark on a new journey away from the pantheons of Rome or the pyramids of Egypt and towards a united humanitarian future. A future whereby all mankind connected by a heavenly father work together for a shared human legacy. This globalism wouldn’t have been possible without centuries of thought on how to treat one another and how to prosper together. This mark that humanity has made on this planet in geological terms is the Holocene and is humanity’s lasting, tangible legacy. But what’s funny to me is that all of this would not be possible had it not been for Jesus and this heavenly father who created us. The Holocene would not exist without our heavenly father and his creation. Making the world a better place for the next generation and the people after you - possibly a uniquely Jesus-inspired idea. 

Remember earlier when I spoke about a journey with no end in sight? If we as a species play our cards right or make the right decisions, we can continue this journey of humanity, and with God and Jesus at the core, we will. That is, until Jesus returns. Walt Disney left a lasting global legacy, and he did it with twelve dwarfs and a mouse. Surely, the journey and story of humanity, with Christian foundations, will endure for a long time. It already has and will continue to do so.

Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

• Walt Disney

Until tomorrow!