a post thwarted

I was going to write a post about the conversations d.w. and I have been having on the "Santa Question", but I decided I just can't top the terrific post recently penned by the intimidatingly well-spoken Her Bad Mother. Regarding whether Santa Claus is a "lie":

When I teach the story of the noble lie (which appears in Plato’s Republic) to my undergraduate students, they usually respond, initially, with indignation. It’s a lie, they say. It is meant to deceive, and deception is bad. Yes, I say, deception is bad. But not all fiction is deceptive. I remind them of origin stories, the story of the Garden of Eden and of the Fall (which, forgive me, I do not regard as plainly factual); I remind them of fables and myths; I remind them of the stories that we tell children, stories that we use for the purposes of teaching.

Stories like that of Santa, which, I think, teaches something about generosity and goodness and the idea that all children deserve to be (even if they are not in fact) loved. That the best way to celebrate Christmas is to give gifts without the expectation of reciprocation, to quietly slip a little happiness into the stockings of others.

Thanks, HBM. Another conflict avoided thanks to the power of rational thinking.

Comments

[Henitsirk]

I like the picture that Santa is like a heavenly being bringing gifts from the spiritual world.

How else could the jolly fat man bring presents to a house without a fireplace, but with heavenly magic?

We decided that it would be too confusing to talk to our kids about Santa and then take them shopping for presents, so in our family Santa only brings stuff for the stockings. Anything under the tree is strictly from humans.