So much for the Disney Channel

Yesterday, I sat down with my three year old to watch some tv. I’m pretty picky about what my kids watch but when he wanted Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I wasn’t too worried. I figure that must be pretty safe, it’s Disney! Disney is supposed be the epitome of safe children’s viewing.

After watching one episode, I’m pretty sure I won’t be turning anything from the Disney channel back on again.

And it’s not like it was violent, or inappropriate in anyway, it’s Mickey! But the belief system that episode was based on was so entirely opposed to what I believe that I was a little bit horrified.

The characters were having a race, one end of the track to the other. A race in my mind means competition, pushing yourself and eventually a winner.  On the show, Pete kept trying to pull ahead while all the rest of the friends stayed together in a nice orderly cooperative group. Every time Pete gained some ground, he was punished for his greediness in wanting to put himself in front of the others in the race. It wasn’t until he learned to hold back and stay with the group that things worked out for him. Willfully embracing mediocrity was the only path to real happiness.

I sat on the couch holding my son, wondering if I really had just seen the Disney channel teach him that individual excellence was a bad thing. I wanted to justify it. I wanted to not have to banish Mickey from my home. But no matter how I turned it in my head, there was only one way to understand the moral they were trying to get across.

Mickey Mouse is a socialist. When did that happen?

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