Opinion Editorial April, 2026: Circus of Heaven
Celebrating our 100th opinion editorial.
"... it was a kind of visitation of Hell on Earth. Who needs metaphors for Hell or poetry about Hell? This actually happened here on this Earth." These words were spoken by the late Spalding Gray during his monologue Swimming to Cambodia. He was speaking about the kinds of atrocity perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge during their tenure in Cambodia. For four years the world watched those atrocities and did not act.
At the same time the atrocities were unfolding, progressive rock pioneer Jon Anderson was writing poetry with metaphors about Heaven on Earth. That work was realized in the 1978 song released by his band Yes, "Circus of Heaven." After last month's event we no longer need metaphors or poetry about Heaven on Earth: The circus of Heaven actually visited this Earth.
I was in Cambodia for part of last month when I took this month's photo. The national circus troupe, Phare, was performing its show Sokha in Siem Reap. The artist in the photo plays the lead character of the same name. In this scene she is haunted by her childhood memories of the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. The theme of the show is Sokha healing her trauma through art. That theme reflects the real-life experiences of Phare's founders.
Like many traditional circuses, the circus of Heaven has three rings. The directors of each ring's performances all believe they are doing the work of the same God. The Pope even claimed last month to know the mind of that God. Unlike Sokha, however, nobody is being healed by this circus. Rather, children (the ones who are not yet dead) are experiencing trauma that will take a generation of healing.
Last month, Forbes published its billionaires list for 2026. Although there are now 400 more of them, they still don't have enough combined wealth to cure religion. But soon they'll have enough money that they won't need to find a cure. Soon they'll have enough money to make Heaven great again. Their campaign is already ahead of schedule.
As if we didn't already know that social media is bad for children, we also shouldn't have needed a jury to tell us last month that such platforms are designed to be addictive. The case for AI chatbots is even worse. A first-of-its-kind study published in The Lancet Psychiatry last month, found that AI chatbots can amplify delusional thinking in those prone to such psychosis. Perhaps their use should be banned for directors of the circus of Heaven.
Just like it does in Anderson's song, the circus of Heaven will leave eventually. But it will return again one day to fight one battle after another just for fun.
Anderson included a part in "Circus of Heaven" for the singer's young son. Spoken by his real-life, five-year-old son, Damion, the character complains "... there were no clowns..." Even a child witnessing the current circus of Heaven would complain that there were only clowns.
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