God ordered the world to work a certain way. He created us male and female (Genesis 1:27). He told us that marriage is between a man and a woman (Mark 10:6-7). People are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are to take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28),and worship the Creator over the creature (Romans 1:25). Operating the way God created the world to work results in a happy, healthy fruitful society.

Trying to redefine any of these things or force the world to work a different way results in brokenness, hurt, shame and guilt, and often makes those watching it feel gross, because, well, it’s unnatural. Trying to work under philosophies God didn’t design doesn’t work. The term ‘woke’ is often used to encapsulate that philosophy, and wokeness doesn’t work.

A great example of this is Disney. This entertainment giant started with family-friendly movies and videos. Walt Disney wanted a place the whole family could enjoy and experience together. It was genius. Disney became huge, and turned into multiple theme parks, hundreds of movies and T.V. shows, and billions of dollars worth of merchandise.  They catered to families, often families of young children, and people loved them. Almost every home in America has something Disney related, and the question, “Have you been to Disney?” is a frequent one.

But many Americans got a bit of shock this year, when they woke up to the realization that Disney has gone woke, and probably has been for a while (which is true, though there are debates on how long Disney has been on this path).  The alarm was sounded by Disney’s controversy over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law (which does a myriad of things, among them protecting children in the youngest grades from being taught sexual material). Disney kowtowed to pressure and fought pretty hard against it (which I talked about and you can watch here). Moreover, leaked videos from a company staff meeting showed that employees were actively working to push LGBTQIA+ material in as much of their entertainment as possible (one employee even bragging about how welcoming the company was to her “not so secret gay agenda”).

Parents were infuriated and showed Disney they didn’t want their children indoctrinated by canceling Disney plus and choosing to vacation somewhere else. But Disney didn’t listen. They included a lesbian kiss in their latest Toy Story movie (which didn’t do well), and a gay romance in their newest animated family movie (which has absolutely bombed at the box office, and has them on track to lose over $100 million).

Disney’s hard and fast left push has hurt them. Parents who have no desire for their children to be indoctrinated and people who just don’t want to watch that have boycotted Disney. Disney’s stock has fallen about 40 percent in the last year. More recently they company instituted job cuts, a hiring freeze, and in a startling move,  fired Bob Chapeck and rehired Bob Iger as CEO. Time will tell if he chooses to continue pushing the agenda (either openly or by moving it underground) or heeding the signs.

Wokeness doesn’t work. Deviating from God’s design for the world is costly in the most significant way – spreading sin. I’m going to close this article by quoting Romans 1 (verses 18 – 19, 20b, 22 – 27 and 32, though it’s beneficial to read the whole thing), because it  has a lot to say about this:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.… So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error….

…Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Written by Dr. Richard D. Kocur

“To infinity and beyond!” In November of 1995, the first of four blockbuster animated films in the Toy Story franchise was released by Walt Disney Pictures to both audience and critical acclaim. With Toy Story, astute businesspeople at the Walt Disney Company created a cash-cow franchise capable of producing revenue for years to come by creating and delivering a product that appealed to their target audience of parents and children. Unfortunately, the Walt Disney Company’s leap from a business focused on producing broadly appealing content to a business exemplifying the latest version of woke corporate activism, redefining the nature and use of a company’s products, has taken the company to the height of stupidity and beyond.

Disney is a long-time part of the landscape, literally and figuratively, in the state of Florida. The company’s 2020 annual report indicates that of Disney’s 203,000 global employees, nearly 40% are in the state of Florida; and a small but vocal minority of those Florida cast-members are not happy.

On March 28, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 1557, Parental Rights in Education. According to the governor’s website, the bill, “reenforces parents’ fundamental rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children.” The bill also, “prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through 3^rd grade and prohibits instruction that is not age appropriate for students.” The Walt Disney Company disagrees.

Let that sink in.

Disney, a company whose legacy was built on producing entertainment for parents and their children, disagrees. After a small group of employees threw a tantrum normally akin to an exhausted six-year-old waiting in line for a turn to ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek surrendered. The company issued a statement on Twitter stating, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

While the drift of companies towards activism in social causes is not new, Disney’s stated goal for this piece of legislation not only runs counter to what should be the goal of any publicly traded business—i.e., to create value for its shareholders—but crosses a line into territory that runs counter to rational business thought.

Organizations like Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Meta, and Major League Baseball have all taken public stances on social issues. These stances have alienated wide segments of their customers based solely on differences in political viewpoint. Through it all, the products or services of these companies remained neutral. The ingredients of Coca-Cola were not altered in an effort to promote the company’s social agenda. In Disney’s case, however, its stance on the Florida bill has the potential to alienate many of the organization’s core customers (parents) precisely because the product will no longer be neutral. Vocal Disney employees indicated in leaked internal meeting videos that the portrayal of Disney characters in television and film will be a vehicle for the promotion of LGBTQ+ lifestyles and identities. In other words, Disney’s products will no longer be neutral but will be directed to serve a social agenda.

Disney’s activism is a bridge too far even in the current day of woke corporations. Making donations to activist groups or voicing support for social justice or climate change is one thing, but using platforms designed to provide entertainment for children—children—to promote alternative lifestyles is a new layer of the woke stratosphere.

What are the potential consequences? Maybe nothing. But maybe a substantial number of parents will see Disney’s actions for what they are, an attempt to supplant parental control over what values are taught to their children and by whom. Maybe the forces of the free market will spring into action and new entertainment options will emerge to fill the market void left by Disney. And maybe, like Buzz Lightyear who mistakenly believed his wings would carry him to infinity and beyond, Disney will realize that forcing extremist values and ideals upon its customers simply will not fly.

This article was originally published at The Institute for Faith & Freedom at Grove City College, where Dr. Richard D. Kocur is an assistant professor of business. Dr. Kocur specializes in marketing and business strategy and has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry.