Jason - Favorite Quote

On the writing

I got this idea because of a Wikipedia “hack” I once encountered. In it they took Walt Disney’s information, changed his middle name to Adolph, and mixed his story with that of Hitler. It was wrong, but I could help but laugh at the proclaimed use of Small World as Nazi propaganda. So, for this week’s assignment I am telling the story of Walt Disney the new minister of propaganda to the Fuhrer. All of the lines he says are actually Walt Disney quotes, but you will see they take on quite a different feel in this context.

Propaganda

The men stood with stony expressions around the round table. They waited for the “new guy” to arrive. He was an American, which instantly made him untrustworthy, but Der Fuhrer had insisted. A new minister of Propaganda? Could this guy really move from Mickey Mouse, to Mighty Mauser? They each grumbled, but for now held their tongues. Some fiddled with the wooden arms of their chairs, but they did not dare sit when he could walk into the room at any time.

The clicking of the boots on stone could be heard long before the tall shadows crossed the threshold, which was a little before the two men entered the cabinet room. They stood in stark contract to one another. While they were similar in height, they could not have carried themselves any differently.The leader just a hair shorter in actual height, seemed bigger, seemed to carry them bother down the hall. He gravity, the sun all the men orbited. Disney, as an addition to the room, did not carry much weight. He smiled with a bit too much tooth. His sweater was light blue, pastel and it seemed to be a little big on him. A ray of sunshine in a storm.

“We mean no disrespect,” one of the dark suited and angry looking men said to Disney, as he took his place at the round table, “but why are you here?”

“Who, me?” he responded with arms flailing with a bit too much drama, “When you are curious you find lots of interesting things to do.” With that the cartoon maker kind of flopped in his chair and tapped the table with this thumbs and middle fingers. He looked like he was fantasizing about dancing elephants.

The men continued to stare at Disney, but it was their leader who asked the next question. “I thank you very much for accepting this position at my round table. There is much, with the relations we have with the public, I think you can do for us. I must ask, though, why did you say yes, Mr. Valt? Why did you agree to be my new minister of Propaganda?”

“You see, Mr. Hitler, even with all the opposition and the bad publicity, you are living by my motto. When you believe a thing, believe it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. You have so many reasons to doubt, but you don’t. So, here I am.”

Hitler let an uncharacteristic smile cross his face and the men around the table, seemed to loosen up a little bit. They settled in and talked in coded language about the war effort since the Americans had joined in. The new minister of Propaganda, for his part, seemed to get lost in his sketchbook. The German men talked of ways to defeat the Americans and the American artist worked carefully on not paying that much attention.

“We don’t need to destroy the men, we just need to destroy their spirits.” said one of the chubbier men. He then looked as did the other to Disney, who right at that time was so focused that this tongue was held tightly between his lips.

“What?” he finally said, when he looked up because of the silence.

“How do we destroy the spirit of the Americans?”

With a flourish the artist flipped the sketch he had been working on around so all the artists could see. He had drawn a gross Distortion of Uncle Sam. The men couldn’t make out if it was a Dog or perhaps some man cow. Either way, they found it funny. Disney would have said Goofy. He looked to silly calling men to action.

“What is the message? Where are the words?”

“Of all our inventions for mass communication, pictures speak the most universally understood language.”

The men thought that understood the picture, but they had no idea how to get the message out. Moreover, they didn’t understand how this would break the will of Americans. That sat looking at the picture of Goofy dressed as Uncle Sam waiting for more.

The leader considered his appointment of Disney to this position and wondered if this was part of the genius. He worried he had made a grave mistake. He didn’t dare reveal that to his council.

“I love the work, but how do you suggest we drive the message home?”

“If you dream it, you can do it,” the artist coyly responded.

The leader unconsciously pulled his pistol off his belt and started fidgeting with it. It made everyone, except for Walt Disney, nervous, but they didn’t say anything.

The leader let the odd words sink in and checked to make sure the pistol was loaded. With the weapon open in his hand, while he was inspecting, he asked, “I certainly can dream it, as you say, but I don’t see how I can make this attack on the psyche a reality.”

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them,” he again answered without answering.

At this, Hitler reassembled the gun in his hand and rose to his feet. He realized what must be done. He silently walked into the next room. Disney watched him with a slight smile on his face. The door closed on the council and after just a bit of movement in the other room the characteristic sound of a handgun being fired was heard.

The men remaining around the table were quiet until the new guy started laughing. He was quiet at first, but it got louder and more out of control. They were destroyed and this American laughed.

“Are you so amused by the death of our leader?” They asked. “At our stoic nature? Our plight? What?”

“All of it,” he said, “This proves what I have always said. There is nothing funnier than the human animal.”

With that, with his work done. He picked up his pad, tucked his pen in his pants pocket and left.