The only thing that tells me that Larry was committed to truth telling at any personal cost all his powerful life. He wrote great songs about Christmas. One I remember was Called “Get Those Reindeer Off My Roof” as I recall.
I do have another point I want to make about Santa Clause. To me The Santa myth { Please hid this post form any 3rd graders you know}.AS I have thought about Santa for the last few week, I feel this myth demonstrates how deeply male dominance is ingrained in the popular culture of our nation.
I want to make a few points now.
- Santa is the female term in Spanish language as in Santa Barbara as San is the male for saint as in San Diego or St James. I sometimes indulge my cynical side by wondering if the idea of transsexuality is built into the myth. It amuses me to think of all the sexual diversity some Christians are so frightened of has crept into the Christmas they celebrate so happily with here kids,
- Santa has very white, hair, beard and is complexioned figure. Sometimes his skin as if he is albano. I see no trace of any other groups even among the elfs and I suppose the reindeer. I wonder if Mrs Clause dutifully makes him cookies as so many mothers do around the world.
- My beloved Aunts Nellie and Aunt Laura made Christmas gift opening a good event for me. However when I was faced with the inevitable gift comparisons with my friends at church I dreaded it.
- One year I got a puppy. I felt my Christmas at last could be favorably compared with my friend’s largesse. The first friend I told about my puppy at church asked “What breed was it” Somehow that diminished my Christmas.
- What about the really poor kids who never got elaborate gifts? I wonder if like me they felt less than like I did. A friend once told me that his gift each year was an orange. One year a richer man stopped in to visit and absentmindedly reached over over and ate his orange. That man never knew how much pain he caused my friend. I wonder how much pain was caused by the heavy commercialized, judgemental but generous to good kids anta picture has caused in the world.
- What about Black, Asian and Hispanic kids? What about poor kids who never get anything for which they had begged Santa.
- The Santa myth says people that are powerful have a right to enter a persons house. Do you feel like I do that government gets ever more invasive. I thank God for the ACLU that imposes some limits on the most intrusive of powers of government.
- Department stores love Santa because much of their prophet margin comes from overheated buying during the holidays.
- I do not have a opinion on what you should do about the Santa myth. When my kids were little I taught them to thnt the commercials they were watching. What message are they giving you and is it true? I just wanted to look at the Santa myth for myself. I am 80 now and all my child rearing days are 50 years behind me so Santa is not an issue. So do as you please and I will not criticise.
- One of the nice things about America is you are never more than 20 feet from a trash can. Feel free to use it on what I have written
George Caywood 