Sorry, Virginia. He’s no Santa Claus
No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus.
There’s no Easter Bunny and no Sasquatch. The Loch Ness Monster doesn’t exist and Donald Trump did not win the 2020 presidential election.
Folks, them’s the facts … deal with them as you may.
I know, for some, that’s not easy. I hadn’t quite made it to five-years-old when I caught Mom and Dad in the act … no, not that act … the act they put on every Christmas Eve, loading the loot under the Tannenbaum in a pajama-clad impersonation of St. Nick. On the one hand, I recall a sense of real relief, of things making sense, falling into place – why the toys under the tree were branded Tonka and Mattel rather than Made at the North Pole, and why, unlike all the other mail dropped off at the post office, my letter to Santa didn’t require a postage stamp. On the other hand, the knowing was frightening, a real potential threat. If I quit professing belief would “Santa” quit delivering the goods. Better to shut up and play along than start singing “Do you see what I see?” at any opportunity.
Of course, in due and appropriate time, it was assumed without explicit acknowledgement that I was in on the ruse and with a wink and a nod accepted the legitimacy of every street corner and department store Kris Kringle we’d come across. And to this day, right up to the 25th of December, I’ll hum along with “Here Comes Santa Claus” knowing the VISA bill comes due in January.
This January, hard as it might be, it’s well past time to acknowledge other realities as well.
Ok, Donald Trump’s got no fluffy white beard, no bright red suit – though that long red necktie is a fair stand-in -- but he’s got an awful lot of people acting like wised-up preschoolers afraid of what happens if Santa learns they’re in on the act. Folks believe they have a real personal stake in this, and if they quit believing that on Election Eve a multitude of Democrat elves magically mutated millions of Trumpy votes into Biden ballots – unseen, unheard and leaving no trace that anyone save Rudy Giuliani could possibly discern -- all manner of dark and evil things will doubtless befall them and the Republic will be plunged into Communism, chaos and worse. Folks fear they have a lot to lose. Folks believe they have a lot to fear.
In a contest between facts and fear, fear nearly always has the edge. And fear doesn’t go away easily. When millions of our people choose to believe – without basis in fact -- that somehow, some way an election was stolen and their freedoms and futures are threatened our country, our communities have been gravely damaged. When numbers of us put faith in fantasy -- false and fleeting -- rather than those things that can be counted, witnessed and verified, the stable ground on which everything is built is shaken. In this universe, reality is inherently singular – there is no alternative to what is, no matter how much anyone believes otherwise.
But obviously, folks believe what they choose to believe. If God is involved, we call it faith and give any contrary facts a wide berth. If not, it’s politics and we pretend God is taking an interest and pick and choose our facts accordingly.
Still, the facts remain. Santa’s beard is fake, reindeer can’t fly and Trump lost the election. And as anyone who’s blown their budget playing Santa knows, in the real world, facts still matter.
And, Virginia … Sorry about that.