Duality is the nature of the universe. Just as every coin has two sides, there is an inherent attraction and tension between male and female, rich and poor, producers and consumers. 

One need not be an adherent of Ann Rand’s philosophy outlined in Atlas Shrugged to detect the potential tension between the producer and the consumer, capitalist and socialist, the sometimes-flawed producer who pays taxes, versus the sometimes-corrupt power-hungry politician who believes s/he knows better how to spend our hard-earned money. 

When the pendulum swings too far to the right, the capitalist might become a robber baron and monopolist. When the pendulum swings too far to the left, society leans toward socialism featuring holier-than-thou virtue signalers. 

Anheuser-Busch and Disney are current examples. Like Joseph Campbell and his classic A Hero with a Thousand Faces, Walt Disney collected great stories and parables from diverse cultures to bring us a universal message of hope and unity. Having raised three children, I have probably watched dozens of these Disney animations, many of them multiple times.

Then Disney seemed to have engaged in a societal shift to the left of the political divide and, with that, started a form of virtue-preaching to parents who perhaps were not in tune with this “awakening.” As such, in the past two years, Disney’s stock has lost more than half its value, and its streaming service is losing billions of dollars annually. While some claim this loss is not unique to Disney (as most streaming services are currently struggling), I believe this is a self-inflicted wound resulting from actions like the placement of trigger warnings in its animated classics such as “this film may contain negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures that were wrong then and are wrong now.”

By way of example, when my kids and I watched Disney’s original 1937 version of the Brothers Grimms’ animated classic “Snow White,” I related more to the seven dwarfs than I did to the prince, as I saw Snow White’s beauty more in terms of her kindness to the dwarfs than to the whiteness of her skin. 

Maybe I am old-fashioned and insensitive to trending themes, but I believe, as a society, we would do better to treat each other as equals by showing love to everyone regardless of their political and religious affiliation.

— Sina.