Roswell, New Mexico

That is me hanging on to the matriarch of this family during a UFO encounter.  Yes, I’m in Roswell, New Mexico.  Being a fan of the strange and unusual, Roswell has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time.  Well I am here now, in a $17 motel room (!) whose walls are painted alien green, like many of the trimmings of this here space between the tumbleweeds in the New Mexican desert.  I find the alien kitsch to be fun and I appreciate how the local flair caters to this draw but… [rant brewing]

I used to teach 5th graders American history.  The overarching theme of the curriculum I created was that a country, like a person, is a complex thing.  That a nation, our nation, is not just this one way.  That as citizens we have a responsibility to think critically, to question, to resist, to dissent, to actively seek truth and justice (I sound like the Frog Brothers.)  But seeking truth and justice can be difficult.  Because, also like a person, a country may hide things to protect the ones it “loves” …if love means to placate in the hope to maintain well-established power structures. [I heart Noam Chomsky.]  There is an order to things that needs protection and sometimes this merits widespread deception.  

 

So what am I going on about?  Well, I’m annoyed how layers of disinformation and deception turn into light-hearted kitsch.  I’m annoyed that the alien statute next to the Domino’s Pizza helps to fictionalize and indulge the masses, to gloss over something much larger and important.  Like how all of a sudden my students started talking about the Illuminati, a well-established and far-reaching conspiracy theory…. then it turns out it was in some stupid kids movie!  Media as a means of distraction, propaganda, [I really heart Noam Chomsky.] and now fictionalizing alleged truths that may have the ability to promote critical thought, questioning, resistance, dissent, truth and justice. I don’t like what is happening here.

But here is a bunch of pictures from my stay in Roswell and all the cute alien stuff.

Vegan aliens?