I Lie and Slowly We All Die - Theme Park Realizations

An American "Dream"

By: Gus Victoria

I lie for a living. Yes, that is what I do. And they aren’t even good lies! No, I perpetuate authorized lies in order to maintain an environment for intellectual Lilliputians that induce them to easily, willing and eagerly part with their hard-earned money. Not all are unwitting empty fools, some are knowing wise fools that enjoy their reconnection to a childhood cherished and never fully forgotten. I like these people. We get along. They are in the minority so I will not mention them anymore. It is enough to know they exist.

The grand majority of people I come in contact with make me wish I was instead raising sheep in New Zealand. They have been given a lie that they attach themselves to with such incredible vigor that it is impossible to shake them from it and force them to face a reality wholly unlike this “dream.” It is the American dream. The dream, the lie, that each of us is special. I spend my days perpetuating this myth and it eats at my soul. These people come from all around the world to be immersed in a land of wonder and fantasy. We must do a damn good job because this area is always a popular destination and a steady stream of visitors is a given we often take for granted.

I would have no problem with this fantasy, none whatsoever, if these people that come actually appreciated the experience for what it is. Instead they are so myopic in their own lives that they rarely enjoy the entirety of what is offered. It is the me-first-me-only mentality that was the core of the small hunter-gatherer clans of our distant past that forcefully imposes itself as the family goes about their day from one attraction to another.

 

We can make allowances that because they are on vacation they do not retain their full faculties. They are so excited to be here and experience such a sensory overload that it is natural that they may need a little help in making otherwise mundane connections. That’s what we are there for after all. Where is the bathroom? Which way is this? What time is that? Granted, I don’t begrudge anyone this information, but something disturbing has revealed itself over the years. Many of these people could not make these connections on their own back home. Our society has devolved into a shallow one of instant gratification that we, as a people, no longer recognize what is important and worse have jettisoned as unimportant those skills that might help us in that discernment. Why read a map when your GPS tells you? Why expand your vocabulary by reading when if it’s popular enough they will make a film about it? Why expand your mind by learning new things when it doesn’t directly affect your current or future job?

These are societal problems not theme park guest problems. It is only in the petri dish of these attractions that they are more profoundly seen and felt, but they exist outside the gates. That is the real tragedy. Not that people are enjoying their vacation, but that people are missing life. In times past these people would have been relegated to lower castes of society, but on a level playing field everyone suffers from the intellectual decay. There is little refuge when the idiot with a 3^rd grade reading level has the same political power as a post-grad professional. Everyone can vote, and everyone indeed can suffer from the ignorance of the masses.

My unhappiness at work is rooted in the stark realization recently that I am only adding to this dystopia. I lie. They believe. They smile. And slowly a part of me dies.