Circus! Circus?

Yesterday, we took Seth to the circus. He had a blast. He was amazed by the animal stunts and his jaw literally dropped when he saw a man driving a motorcycle on a tightrope. He joyfully licked his all day sucker (which we chose over the twelve(!) dollar cotton candy) until it's untimely demise a few minutes in. He watched the show with the wide eyed wonder that lasts for just a short time. It was all things to him that I had hoped it would be.

What I wasn't expecting was a crisis of conscience. As we approached the Colonial Center with an air of excitement, I was caught off guard by the PETA protesters peacefully holding their signs that read, "Ringling Beats Animals" and "Stop Elephant Abuse. Boycott The Circus." I immediately remembered a time when I was much younger and idyllic. I always thought I'd be the person who doesn't take their child to the zoo or circus out of moral responsibility. Along with so many other romantic ideas, these thoughts had gone by the wayside as life happened. Now they were suddenly jolted back into my mind.

As we watched the show, I was entertained and enthralled. I watched Seth as much as the show its self and delighted in his reaction. But I couldn't help but let my mind wonder back to the protesters out front, patiently, silently spreading their message. The animals looked healthy, but were they being properly cared for?

When we got home I did a bit of surfing. According to the shiny picture painted at the Ringling website, the animals are treated like family with all of their needs met. Of course that's what they have to portray. The laundry list of USDA violations, uncalled for deaths and pending investigations from PETA paints a drastically different picture. Perhaps the full story lies somewhere in between. I'm sure it is a quandary I will mull over in my head for some time. Will this be Seth's last wide eyed trip to the circus? I'm not sure. But I can't help but smile as I hear him singing, "Together forever, keep the circus in your heart..."