A tourist’s perspective on international relations

Afew years ago, someone started a campaign to make Elsa the first lesbian Disney princess. It didn’t get much traction at the time, just like the idea that Ernie and Bert were shacking up as domestic partners on “Sesame Street.”

Fast forward to 2022. Now, we have Disney executives caught in flagrante, as they describe their master plan to force adult sexual obsessions on toddlers. Christopher Rufo, who almost single-handedly alerted the country to the dangers of Critical Race Theory in elementary schools, leaked video of a high-placed employee of the Manic (er, Magic) Kingdom getting all weepy about her “pansexual” and trans kids. This woman vowed to inject as much sexual theory and wokeness into children’s fare as humanly possible, because she wanted her own little darlings to see themselves reflected in the Disney characters.

Florida has become ground zero in the fight for family values and decency, as Gov. Ron DeSantis attempts to protect children from the excesses of progressive politicos who care more about social media approval than they do about the emotional and psychological welfare of minors. He has signed into law provisions that give parents more control over the education of their sons and daughters, and has erected a necessary barrier between the youngest students and the zealotry of LGBTQ activists disguised as teachers.

The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law did not bar the word “gay” from the Floridian lexicon. It simply, and clearly, prohibited the discussion of sexual orientation and gender issues in grades K-3, where they have no place and where inclusion of those subjects can only confuse tender minds. Of course, the folks who find fault in virtue and gain purchase through hypocrisy (protect the kids from GOP fascists and keep abortion legal!) think that a child who can’t even walk yet needs to know that Heather has two mommies, and her uncles are actually her aunts.

Excuse me if I sound flippant, but the idea that a company beloved of boomers and subsequent generations is now controlled by social engineers of the most dangerous and egotistical kind is upsetting. I have canceled Disney Plus from my streaming account, because I can no longer justify subsidizing an organization that thinks toddlers should be exposed to adult concepts. To think that poignant, life-changing films like “Old Yeller” that marked my own childhood will now be replaced by digital cartoons that erase the distinction between male and female, is infinitely sad.

When you are talking about children, the rules are different. Samesex marriage, adults who transition to an alternate gender, playing with pronouns and even First Amendment issues at the intersection of gender identity and faith are all fair game for debate. In an open society, mature adults can engage, even when they vehemently disagree.

But children don’t have the coping mechanisms that adults have, and it’s exactly for that reason that they are treated differently under the law. That, in a nutshell, is why Florida passed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which is really just a last-ditch attempt to restore power and dignity to parents.

Those same parents used to be able to trust Disney to babysit their kids for hours on end. They didn’t have to worry that some unsavory ideas were being shoved down the tikes’ throats under the guise of inclusion and diversity. They thought that Cinderella was looking for her Prince Charming, not that Prince Charming was considering how he’d look in those glass slippers.

Childhood ends soon enough. In many cases, it ends far too soon, as with abused and neglected boys and girls who never have the chance to experience the unconditional love of caring adults. I have met those kids. I’ve worked with them. I’ve taught them. I’m related to some.

To see Disney attempt to pull the rug out from under the parents who actually do care, and destroy that wonderful magic of childhood to appease some misguided adults, the same ones who persecuted the Boy Scouts for banning “gays” (even when no one asked for a boy’s sexual orientation before signing him up) is despicable.

Are we now going to worry about the sexual antics of the Seven Dwarves? Will we get a full-blown rundown of what happens when the prince climbs up Rapunzel’s braid and into her bedroom? Does the Beast get new pronouns? Does Ariel have a closer relationship with those fish than we were led to believe? And what about Sleeping Beauty? Has she really been alone in that forest all those years?

Walt Disney had a dream. The people who kidnapped that dream are trying to turn it into a nightmare.

I’ve always had an interest in foreign affairs. And I love to travel. Some of my traveling has been due to the generosity of Uncle Sam, aka, Tio Sam. Sam introduced me to Southeast Asia, and I took a two-week trip to Japan on Uncle’s dime. Further, my aunts were great travelers frequently flying to Ireland before air travel became a huge industry. They passed their love of travel on to me, and I am forever grateful.

However, due to the pandemic and antagonistic relations among countries, my travel has been sharply curtailed. You might recall the Princess cruise line ship that was quarantined in the Oakland port. This incident with hundreds of cruise passengers infected with COVID was a dramatic marker for the beginning of the pandemic. Cruising came to an abrupt halt. Countries, including the United States, began restricting entry. In some cases, such as Australia and New Zealand, countries went to complete lockdown. There was little or no arrival or departure. But as we’ve learned, travel restrictions are not all due to the pandemic. Cruising and other forms of travel are making a comeback due to vaccines, masking, and better knowledge of how to manage COVID-19.

Recently, I’ve been struck by the impact of international relations on travel. Shooting wars and hostile trade antagonisms definitely put a damper on traveling to opposing countries.

I mentioned in a recent column that Russian river cruises were off the holiday list for Americans and most Western Europeans. I had hoped one day to revisit

St. Petersburg, Russia, where we had stopped on a Holland America Baltic Sea cruise. It’s a beautiful city rich in history and artistic treasures and has always been known as Russia’s most westernized city. Latvia, a NATO member, has replaced it on the Baltic Sea itinerary.

NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a post WWII military alliance established to counteract the Soviet (Russia, plus) bloc during the Cold War. NATO’s spirit has been to be defensive only to protect the Western European nations on the free side of the Iron Curtain. You may have heard recent news reports where Ukraine’s president wants his country to become a NATO member.

Back on the Baltic Sea cruise, we stopped in Finland and Sweden, both Nordic countries. I thoroughly enjoyed each and would again. However, I would expect the atmosphere to be quite different. Both nations are considering joining NATO. Fear of Putin and the Russian military is changing European politics. The Finns have fought the Russians in the past, but the Swedes have touted their neutrality, and more so, their anti-militarism. Russian aggression has changed that so the Swedes’ shift is surprising. Peaceful Norway, another favorite cruise ship destination, is changing its foreign policy stance. It is sending humanitarian assistance to Ukraine along with helmets and armored vests to support its fight against Russian forces. Germany, long criticized by American presidents for not meeting its contributions to NATO, is substantially increasing its defense budget. Europe is arming up, so shocked are Western European nations at Russia’s naked aggression. The sense is that, unarmed, they could be next. It’s not that the Nordic countries or Germany would be canceled as tourist destinations, but I fear that war impacts will be widespread. Certainly, Ukrainian refugees are influencing the focus of these countries. Just this week, German friends reported that Darmstadt, a city near them, is being transformed by the arrival of 1,000 Ukranian refugees. They are not happy about this. Darmstadt’s reputation is that of a city of science institutes and art nouveau buildings.

Adding to the Germans’ war discomfort, my friends now pay more than the equivalent of $10 a gallon for diesel. They are not traveling much.

Holland America has canceled three of its European cruises. It is temporarily housing Ukranian refugees on its Rotterdam-based cruise ship, the Volendam. We’ve sailed on that ship and will again once war-needs subside.

So much has changed since late February. If you’d like to contribute to Ukranians, do so intelligently. Money ships a lot cheaper than food or medical supplies. Check out charitynavigator.org

Richard Ryan is at rryan@sdsu.edu