Are Corn Mazes Appropriating Alien Culture?

 

Photo by Chris Bair on Unsplash

As the summer turns to fall this year, many people across the country will make plans to visit fancy artistic corn mazes with wild patterns. But are these stylish installations appropriating the proud alien tradition of crop circles?

In this era of political correctness, it's important to reexamine the relationship between crop circles, the ritualistic flattening of wheat or other foliage by extra-terrestrials, and corn mazes, a cheap commercialized reproduction for humans' entertainment. These corn mazes often completely remove the religious and social aspects of the circles, replacing it with gaudy designs appealing to tourists. Surveys say that, over the last two decades, over 90% of corn mazes have been owned and operated by humans, when humans only represent a tiny portion of the life in our galaxy. It's sad to say, but in some parts of the world traditional crop circles are almost unheard-of, with the authentic establishments being completely gentrified by human reproductions.

This is not to say that it's wrong for humans to visit a corn maze. Many of these establishments are run by honest, hardworking people that have a genuine love of crop-circling. But when we do it's important to remember the original intent behind the practice, and to raise new generations with enough context to counteract xenocultural erasure. If we don't, we risk being seen as the cosmic equivalent of dude-bros with tribal tattoos, and nobody wants that. So this year, if you decide to drive out to your local corn maze for an afternoon, just remember the roots it grew from.