Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus.
Why believing in myths is foundational and necessary to the survival of America and American culture.
I swear wasn’t eavesdropping.
I did happen to overhear a conversation being held close enough in proximity to be impossible to ignore between a group of moms at a recent Christmas gathering, all known to have children under the age of ten or so.
I’m paraphrasing here a bit, but as I recollect, the conversation went something like this:
“Are your kids looking forward to Christmas and Santa coming?” queried one mom.
“They are. We always go to the sunrise service at church and then open presents – of course, the actual order is depending upon when the kids wake up!” said one mom. “All my kids still believe in Santa Claus.”
“We don’t allow our children to believe in Santa,” said another mom in response. “My husband and I don’t believe in the Christmas story either because there is no empirical proof of Jesus, so we prefer to teach our children the reality that Christmas is just another holiday. We don’t believe in myths, and we won’t allow our kids to believe them either.”
I happen to know the political leanings of the third mom and dad, and you can probably guess it based on this conversation what it is – I feel sorry for their kids whose parents seem intent on stealing the joy of childhood, but mostly I wondered about the myths we choose to believe.
Looking back over history, I think myths can be broken into two general groups. I classify them two ways – there are positive (helpful) myths and negative (harmful) myths (the interesting thing is that the classification of the myths can often depend entirely upon personal perspective). The former are beliefs that support, guide and direct societies, cultures and civilizations to greater challenges and aspirations, the latter are generally directed at doing exactly the opposite.
There are quite a few that Americans believe. When you consider them, many – like Washington chopping down the cherry tree and Paul Revere’s ride – bind us together as a people and have been remarkably consistent as far back as America’s beginnings. Some are rooted in the revolutionary vision of the Founding Fathers, in fact, while others were readily apparent to Tocqueville when he made his cross-country road trip in the 1830s.
As Americans, it is central to our existence to believe in things like (paraphrased from a 2019 article by Lawrence R. Samuel, Ph.D., an American cultural historian):
The Pursuit of Happiness: Ask any American what he or she wants most in life and the majority will say to be happy, in fact, a clear sign that the “subjective state of emotional wellbeing” is central to who we are as a people.
We are the Land of the Free: Our libertarian streak and resistance against an overly powerful government can be traced back to the nation’s very beginnings.
The Promise of Tomorrow: Optimism and hopefulness have served as a key marker of our national identity, with foreigners often amazed at how we are somehow able to look on the bright side of things even in the toughest of circumstances.
The American Dream: in 1931, James Truslow Adams defined it as “a vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may occupy by the accident of birth.”
The American Way of Life: often thought of as defined by the intro to the old Superman radio and TV serials as “truth, justice, and the American Way”.
The Myth of Equality: Our mythology of the “Everyman” is an idea that is central to our national identity, and one that is unique in the world. While most other countries, past and present, are or were structured around the existence of an upper (or ruling) and a lower (or working) class, the United States has been viewed as a place dedicated to the concept of an equal society.
The Self-Made Man: A 2009 survey by the Pew Economic Mobility Project found that 39 percent of respondents said they believed it was “common” for people born into poverty to become rich, and 71 percent said that personal traits such as hard work and drive, versus the hand we are dealt at birth, are the major reasons for an individual’s success.
Yes, myths are traditional stories that help define the norms of a particular society, and as such, they serve an important cultural (and often civilizational) role.
Myths provide aspirations.
It certainly seems to me that children are not harmed by believing in Santa or Jesus, because those beliefs can lead to positive things. I can understand that in some cases, especially when parents are without sufficient means to support the Santa myth, a child can be rendered unhappy, but also central to being American (it is central to Western civilization) is Myth #3, the promise of tomorrow bringing with it better times. The teachings of Jesus, whether one can prove he existed or not, are worthy of belief if only for the moral guides they are.
And yet, America seems to beset by a horde of buzz-kill helicopter parents who are hell bent upon destroying every positive myth we have. They presume to steal the joy of being an American by pointing out that myths are myths, and it is better not to believe in Santa because if you don’t, you won’t be disappointed.
I just cannot buy into that.
Maybe I could, but I won’t.
My thoughts are that believing in certain positive myths, myths that are central to American character and culture, are good and necessary to maintaining our society, culture, and civilization where such myths can, and often do, become reality.
Excellent read
The myths promoted in 21st century America are almost all negative messages. Nihilists, Marxists, anarchists, and meatheads incessantly broadcast their opinions. Public schools are programming our children to hate themselves and our nation.
I'd like to believe we will survive; but logic tells me we won't.