The Greatest Show on Earth:  Political Correctness
July 15, 2006

         I recently took a six and four year old to behold one of America’s most impressionable institutions: The Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.  Gone are the grandeur of the three rings, they have been replaced by a monolithic sea of black rubber.  Gone is the choreography of the ringmaster who challenged our senses to keep up with three ever changing spheres of interest, he has been replaced by the choreography of ongoing dance numbers which drum away the burden of awe which specialized talent used to command.  Gone are the wonderfully costumed clowns who had the talent to weave humor between acts to form a cohesive fabric, They have been replaced by the rainbow coalition Sedona resident Robert Shields deems demographically encompassing enough in his capacity as Director of Clowns (midgets need not apply).  Gone are the exotic animals of Africa and Asia, they have been replaced by the denizens of your pet store: dogs, cats, birds, and horses.  Fret not though, you will see elephants accompanied by monologues and solicitations about how our friends from Asia are well cared for, and would be even better cared for if monetary donations were forthcoming, the “we must bomb the village to save it” approach to exploitation.  But if the mantra of exploitation has such power to metamorphose this institution, the large numbers of extremely young Asians which populate the acts need a new agent.