The movie “Song of the South” is missing from
the list of early Disney films in general circulation. The wheels in charge say
there’s no way to edit out the racially offensive parts and still have a full
length movie. But one part was prophetic. The story is about a rabbit, a
fox and a black bear. The fox caught a rabbit and was ready to roast it
so he and the bear could eat it for dinner.
The rabbit starts laughing. The bear is
curious and overpowers the fox as the rabbit leads them to his Laughing
Place. Turns out the rabbit’s laughing place is a hornets’ nest which
attacks and conquers both the fox and the bear.
The rabbit laughs. “It’s MY laughing
place, not yours.” This all introduces the song “Everybody’s Got a
Laughing Place.”
And that was future truth. The entire
world has a laughing place and to paraphrase another cartoon character, Walt
Kelly’s “Pogo,” “We have met the laughing place and it is us.”
The United States has become the “laughing
place” of countries large and small. From the UK to France, China and
Russia to Lichtenstein and Alsace-Lorraine, from Canada to Monaco, the once
mighty United States of America has become an international laughing place.
We can’t unite despite our name. We can’t deal
with the COVID 19 virus. We can’t agree on support for the unemployed. We fight
about abortion. We fight about racism. We fight about foreign wars. We fight
about fighting about everything.
So, who cares what the rest of the world thinks
of us? Well… that question centers on our Star Spangled Majesty.
But there no longer IS any majesty. Any advantage we had over anyone else
has vaporized. Anything in which we led the rest of the world has been
forgotten.
They look at us and what do they see? A
country that can’t make up its mind what it is. The only reason Malta
hasn’t conquered the US is its lack of planes equipped to airlift Troops.
Up until now, even the most rabid anti-American
countries haven’t succeeded labeling us as a rogue nation is their lack of
military might and fear that the “real” America might soon awaken and turn them
into our own laughing place.
Questions:
--Why do people say “just a quick question and
then prattle on endlessly? Example: “Just a quick question. I dropped my iPhone
on my foot the other day and the glass cracked to the point that I have a lot
of trouble reading it. I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, you
know, for my broken toe … which is very painful. I’m due at the orthopedist at
4:10 PM and it takes about an hour to get there by bus. Can you tell me what
time it is now?”
How is it the US spat aircraft and tanks out
like popcorn in the WWII era and now we can’t make enough masks, Q-tips and
virus tests to meet demand?
Do we really need a statue of Billy Graham on
federal land in Washington?
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but
you’re welcome to them. ®
Any Questions?
© WJR 2020
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