Posted on 12/26/2005 8:11:14 AM PST by Conservatrix
To the Editor:
"Last week I substituted at a local elementary school in Lebanon County. The lesson plan required me to read the 1882 poem “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore to two classes of students. While I can appreciate the poem for its literary value, the subject matter is offensive to me, and the reading of this poem to the children imposed values upon me which are against my deeply held religious beliefs. I could not in good conscience present the notion of Santa Claus as a truth to the children, and stated so.
No public school teacher should be required to teach a belief, or custom, or religion that he or she believes to be false, or be required to pass those purported falsehoods onto impressionable children, without the right to state a disclaimer. Furthermore, freedom of speech and religion, no matter how unpopular the speech or against cultural norms the religion, are protected rights under the Constitution of the United States. A secular public school should not be propagating any kind of religion. The belief in Santa Claus as a divine, magical, omniscient, powerful, giving, loving father-figure, to which children are taught to make supplications and requests, is a religion indeed-- a distorted substitute for the Judeo-Christian God; a false form of Christianity; a zealously-protected American idol.
In presenting the poem, I gave the children quick historical background about the Santa Claus myth-- its evolution from the historic Nickolaus, Bishop of Myrna in Asia Minor, who died in 343 A.D., to its amalgamation with ancient Western pagan traditions of German, Scandinavian and Dutch origins, to the current manifestation in the secular Christmas culture of today. (Dutch children, for example, would put their wooden shoes out at night for “Sante Klaus” to fill with candies.)
The current Santa Claus figure was popularized in the late 19th Century by artist Thomas Nast of Harper’s Weekly Magazine, who depicted “Saint Nick,” not as an elf, but a rotund, pipe-smoking man in a red and white suit. This is the deity to which countless public school children today are taught to make supplications, and about whom they sing their many songs at annual public school Christmas programs.
If people are upset about the revelation to children that Santa Claus is a myth-- which all children who are taught this lie find or figure out eventually-- perhaps it is because Santa is that zealously-guarded idol of their own modern religion. Therefore, as a religion, let Santa be kept out of the public school classroom (no more “Dear Santa” letters to line those school hallways)--or perhaps, in the interest of “diversity,” make his mythical, oversized personage share equal representation in literature, and song, and Christmas programs, with the other Person of the season: the Lord Jesus Christ, God made flesh, God with us."
Once a soldier, always a soldier. I see everything through a prism of warfare.
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You need to wash your filthy mouth out with soap.
Many officers told me that, but it was me they all wanted when they had a really messy job to do...
The idiot doesn't know that you teach this lesson to 11 years olds, not six year olds.
A crazed former postal worker breaks into his old post office, brandishing a shotgun, and starts shooting. He is clearly targeting only women. You see a woman duck into a closet to hide, and choose to stand in front of it, casually. He asks you, wild-eyed: "is anyone in there?" You say, "No." He takes your word for it and moves on; you have, therefore, saved a life by lying.
No doubt we would all agree that you have done a good thing. The question is, have you sinned; do you need God's forgiveness for that act; or is it credited to you as a good deed? I say the latter.
If you're interested in a Biblical version of this scenario, it is not hard to find: Exodus 1:15-20, Joshua 2:1-7.
Even more interesting is 1 Samuel 16:1-4, in which God actually commanded Samuel to deceive Saul. Or 2 Kings 6:14-20, in which God actually participated in a ruse, carried out by Elisha, against some Syrian soldiers sent to seize him.
These examples are extreme, no doubt; it is one thing to lie to save a life and another to allow a child to believe in a fantasy. But the bigger issue to me, here, is that it seems that it is sometimes not even wrong to use a falsehood; not just the lesser of two evils, but not evil in the first place.
Is it still so in the case of Santa Claus? Perhaps. But, perhaps we should expect a little more humility in addressing the question from the affirmative point of view.
Funny, my colonel always said that with a beaming smile about how well I took a personal interest to carry out his orders beyond the call of my duty. It made up all the difference over the crap I got from junior officers for being the big ugly cowboy with a bad attitude.
I teach my kids not to back away from falsehood, to confront and defeat it with the truth.
I couldn't really give a rat's rear end about your Santa Clause phantasm or the little elves and fairies, but when my children ask me about Christmas or religion I hand them an old, magnificently gilded Bible from the mid-1800s and let them decide for themselves, because I ultimately cannot choose for them or anyone else.
Since many Jewish holidays involve military victories or a great shedding of blood...
HEY, MORONIC GENTILES, DOESN'T CHRISTMAS REPRESENT SOMEONE WHO SUFFERED A GREAT SHEDDING OF HIS JEWISH BLOOD???
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Ask yourself why there is such a disproportionate culture of individual success within the Jewish community in many endeavors not similarly represented among the Christian Gentiles or the pagans.
That was typically arrogant and unnecessary.
The truth is often derided as such.
In a REAL classroom, you would/could never be REQUIRED to speak of abortion in glowing terms. It wouldn't be legal and it wouldn't be germane to any lesson plan I can imagine.
It isn't really about responsibility. If parents choose to lie to their children, I am not going to interfere. And if I found myself in a temporary custodial position as a teacher (or daycare worker, or camp counselor), I would choose not to say anything about it. If the curriculum called for it, I would discuss it with whatever entity is in charge.
I am talking about inconsistency right here on Free Republic, not the actions of the teacher.
I have seen people on this thread (I am pinging them) refer to Santa Claus as:
a fairy tale (yet children are not taught that fairy tales are real, they are clearly stories)
a miracle (but miracles are real, Santa Claus is not)
Santa Claus and Jesus are friends (this could obviously lead one to question the existence of Jesus)
Santa Claus is just a story, like Tom Sawyer is a story (children are NOT taught that Tom Sawyer is a real person, and any child who were to believe such would be corrected by his parents and certainly by his teachers)
The story is just a fantasy story (But children are not taught that Lord of the Rings is real, and no one is expected to pretend that Frodo is a real person)
Do your children really believe that fairy tales are real?
I'm curious, because when I was a child, I loved fantasy stories and fairy tales, but I never, EVER actually thought they were real.
You actually believe Santa is a real thing. It is not my purpose at this moment to disabuse you of this notion. However, at least YOU are consistent.
I am talking to those Freepers who say Santa Claus is a harmless fairy tale/myth, yet they present him to their children as a real person, not a mythological figure.
This is inconsistent.
"The belief in Santa Claus as a divine, magical, omniscient, powerful, giving, loving father-figure, to which children are taught to make supplications and requests, is a religion indeed-- a distorted substitute for the Judeo-Christian God; a false form of Christianity; a zealously-protected American idol."
Uhm... I just kinda thought he was a right jolly old elf... you c*nt.
SOTG
Here's wishing you a prosperous and healthy New Year.
I was viewing it on Christmas morning. What difference does it make when it was posted?
Anyhow forget it, it's really no big deal.
Here's wishing you a healthy and pleasant New Year.
You said, in part: Do your children really believe that fairy tales are real?
I'm curious, because when I was a child, I loved fantasy stories and fairy tales, but I never, EVER actually thought they were real.
***
No, my children don't (didn't, they are now almost 14) believe fairy tales are true, but neither did any teacher I know of go out of his or her way to tell them that. Our kids were believers in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny when they were younger. We didn't emphasize the truth/falsity issue of them, we just enjoyed the fantasy with them. They were young children. Santa was not God, and he was not part of any religious teaching. It was FUN. Kids should have a little fun. Our kids now believe in the "spirit of Santa Claus" which IS indirectly related to our Christian values of giving and thinking of others first. We have always thought of Santa as a harmless, fun diversion. Others may disagree. We only ask that others not interfere with how we raise our children. Anyone with a modicum of sense knows that Santa is dealt with differently in different households, and should be discreet enough not to get involved in what we see from this thread is a touchy subject.
I consider the Santa "issue" not too different from sex education in that regard. Parents make decisions on how to deal with the "where to babies come from" question based upon their religious and moral beliefs and their determination of the maturity of their children. Some parents lay it all out very early on. Some stick with the "stork brings them" story (or something similar) for a while. I would have been outraged if a teacher of one of my children decided to tell the "truth" about sex to my child before I thought he or she were ready. This truth can be expressed many ways however, ranging from: Babies come from the love of a mother and father to you take this part here and put it in here until...
The point for me is the teacher's inappropriate decision to usurp the position of the parent, not to argue that Santa Claus is or is not real.
The day I stopped believing in Santa was the beginning of a lifetime of socks for Christmas. Yes, I got them again this year.........What is even more insulting is the fact they are the cheap kind that immediately stretch out, slide down then clump around your ankles......
I'm so sorry, Jim. Words fail me, but you and your family will be in my prayers.
http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/album/
Is that not your lovely countenance included therein ......... or, is that Mary Mapes?
Just kidding.
Also, I did not say you were not a decent person as you not-so-neatly distorted my post. I did however say you could be a more decent person if you could admit an error every eon or so. -;)
Admit to a possible slip-up (such as this one about the FR album picture) every once in a while, it makes you an even better human being. And here’s asking you to lay off the unnecessary and paranoid invectives of yours such as, “scary, “insane”, “creep”, “psycho”, and many more that you throw around at various posters week in and week out. If anyone qualifies for those needless diatribes, find a mirror. But if it makes you feel better to "play paranoid" and to throw those words around at people, go for it.
Now after all that, here's wishing you health and happiness in the coming year. FR is a better place with you and a great number of others as main contributors.
*****
p.s. When I saw that hand-written letter of old Rockefeller of W.V. to the V.P. about civil liberties and eavesdropping, it looked a little odd, as the handwritten part wasn't quite in line with the "heading". I was half expecting a "Buckhead" moment again in investigating that strange letter.
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Take care.
No, don't bother to reply.
;-)
Actually, as far as I can tell, she has been postting to this thread repeatedly, referring to herself in the third person ("she") while trying to defend her outrageous behavior.
It does amaze me that while it is absolutely wrong to teach Jesus during the Christmas season, it is perfectly correct to replace Him with a Santa Claus and change the term from Merry Christmas to Happy Holidays.
Maybe people are offended with Jesus?
We told our kids the truth about Santa as soon as they were able to understand the truth.
We forbid them from telling other kids, and we sure don't force them to go along with the ridiculous fable.
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