The dark side of Disney
BY SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
(08/23/99)

and

Disney rocks!
BY LISA MOSKOWITZ
(08/24/99)

My children (ages 8 and 11) have been exposed to Disney products throughout their lives. They know about Disney World: Their friends have been and one of their cousins has been at least once a year since she was 6 weeks old. We have never given the idea of going any serious thought, though. Disney World sounds like an alcove in the great hall of eternal damnation: hour-long wait for rides, cranky kids and parents, exorbitant prices and a total waste of money and time.

Our children have been to Yellowstone National Park, Niagara Falls, Great Britain (twice), the Rocky Mountains. They have seen and experienced unmanufactured natural beauty and historical places. If they want to go to Disney World, they can take themselves when they are adults.

-- Fran Davies
Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Samuel G. Freedman's desperate attempt to sound "cultured" and intellectually superior by pointing out the commercial excesses of Disney is dated at best. I feel sorry for him -- even more sorry for his children. I'm glad my parents valued my happiness above their own whims and selfish ideologies. As someone who has wonderful childhood memories of Disney, I'm happy to say that I didn't miss the magic of "what being young is really all about."

-- Allan Rotgers

Lisa Moskowitz asks us to "Forget the long lines, the schlocky toys and the canned music." You mean there's more to Disneyland than that? I was no child genius, but even at the age of 10 I could recognize that the place was a boring, sterile wasteland that couldn't hold a candle to a good campground in terms of being a place where I could explore to my heart's content, let my imagination run wild and just plain ol' be a kid.

Hell, even the rides were much lamer than the ones at other parks. Disneyland has to be the worst, most overpriced and stress-inducing (in both kids and adults, albeit for completely different reasons) holiday destination I can think of. The place is just creepy. Stay far, far away.

-- Beau Levitt
Toronto

Where Samuel G. Freedman felt the commercialism of Disney's manipulation of the Magic Kingdom environment, I felt the acoustical energy. I made the pilgrimage with older kids. We didn't adjourn for afternoon naps, we just had to pace ourselves to last all day in the Magic Kingdom. My attempt to escape was blocked by the nightly parade and I remember something about watching fireworks from a steamboat.

Once we walked away from Disney's transport system, into a sparse parking lot (where I could finally take a full stride,) I noticed the silence. I realized that all day I had been exposed to untold numbers of themes and tunes, never once having a silent moment. That was when I finally felt like I had been manipulated.

The ride back to the hotel was mercifully silent, and that was one of the advantages of staying "off the property." The next day we immersed ourselves in reality with a day at the beach. Real waves and real sounds. We enjoyed it without anyone trying to manipulate our experience.

-- Denny Appleman

Smell what?
BY JILL REYNA
(08/25/99)

I'm sick of hearing the term "reverse racism." I see this as an implication that the word "racism" refers only to whites discriminating against others. This implication rests on the belief that a minority cannot be racist at all, a belief that Jill Reyna gladly no longer seems to subscribe to. There is no such thing as reverse racism. I find the term insulting.

-- Joshua Belsky

The devolving of evolution
BY CHRIS COLIN
(08/25/99)

I have heard fundamentalists say that the prohibitively low probability that the universe would evolve just the way it has is a proof against evolution. Does this mean that God is incapable of creating such a universe?

-- Pat Langdon
Omaha, Neb.

In an otherwise interesting article, Chris Colin writes: "Like earlier discoveries -- that the Earth is not flat, that the Earth is not at the center of the universe -- evolution made word-for-word readings of the Bible problematic." I personally would be very interested in knowing where the Bible, interpreted word for word, says (or even implies) that the Earth is flat or that it is at the center of the universe. Because as far as I know, it doesn't. In contrast, the Bible is pretty specific in its description of how the world was made.

The fall of the Aristotelian (earth-centered) worldview was a minor blow to Christianity because it cast doubt on a piece of easily jettisoned theological nonsense that had attached itself somehow to Catholic doctrine over the centuries. But the creationist worldview is going to be much more difficult for science to eradicate, because it goes to the very scriptural core of both Christianity and Judaism, the first sentence of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible.

-- Sean Luke
Washington

Jesus Christ, personal friend of surfing
BY CINTRA WILSON
(08/25/99)

Cintra Wilson's piece on the Lacanau Pro surf contest was one of the most refreshing and funny pieces I've read in the last few years. As an individual who has built a lifestyle around surfing, I found her insights into the sport uncomfortably accurate. As an individual who has built a business career around surfing, I am reminded once again of how individuals like Cory Lopez are the key connection to a subculture we call the surfing lifestyle.

-- Mark Tinkess
Vice president of marketing, O'Neill Inc.
Santa Cruz, Calif.

The blame game
BY SUSAN CRABTREE
(08/26/99)

George W. Bush has no one but himself to blame for the controversy surrounding him today. It seems he is still in denial about some things in his past -- and his loyal campaign staffers and colleagues are not serving him by blaming everyone else for his behavior. Isn't this the party of "taking responsibility for oneself?" Well, when is he going to start?

Bush hasn't taken responsibility for much of anything during most of his adult life. After all, according to his own comments, he just grew up about eight years ago. And it appears he may need another eight before he is there.

The presidency demands a high degree of emotional maturity or intellectual capability. Bush doesn't seem to have either. The presidency is not something for him to teethe on for four years!

Bush says he's going to be a change from Bill Clinton -- but in many ways, he's starting to sound and look like the same thing.

-- M.A. McGee
Akron, Ohio

Crabtree writes, "the real question, of course, remains not who is spreading these rumors about Bush, but whether they are true." In this day and age of intense media scrutiny of the personal conduct of public officials, this question may -- unfortunately -- weigh in the public opinion. But the real question, of course, is the political agenda of the candidates, and their legislative track record. Would some journalists please start to get back to these ostensibly forgotten issues? Or should we just take the rumors about the private lives of the candidates as a basis for guessing the "gestalt" of their political agendas?

-- H. Lechner
Houston

The rumors and "suggestions" to investigate Bush's possible drug use did indeed originate from the Forbes camp. My brother received a "polling query" from the Forbes camp in which he was asked directly about his opinion toward "the front-runner's" use of drugs in his past.

-- Letty Bromenschenkel
Minneapolis