You're a mean one, Mr. Pierson!

 

Lennard Pierson thinks allowing children to believe in Santa Claus warps their personalities and makes them into liars.

 

He asks how you would like being lied to for years. You know, as I look back on my early years and the time when I discovered that Santa was real only in the sense that he represented the innocence and magic of  childhood, it never once crossed my mind that my mom had "lied for years."

 

"Can any child trust an adult . . . from that point on?" Lennard asks. Well, if he can't, I'd say the child has some deep psychological problems that have nothing to do with a harmless fantasy that's brought joy to millions. I challenge Lennard to interview 100 people picked at random and ask them how believing in Santa ruined their lives. I daresay all he'll see are looks of incredulity that such a stupid question would even occur to anyone.

 

He says Santa is built of lies and false cheer. I say Santa is built of generosity and good will and good memories and the spirit of the season. Essie has seen more Christmases than she cares to admit to, and even though she knows Santa's not coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve, she still loves him. In fact, she actually feels like she's forgetting something when she doesn't leave the milk and cookies out for him.

 

Lennard says that when we get rid of Santa Claus, we'll begin to tell the truth about ourselves and our world. I think Lennard has revealed the truth about himself quite clearly already.

And are you ready for the kicker? Lennard is a fiction writer (a review of  his novel on Amazon.com is considerably less than stellar). How ironic is that?

 

"Stop telling the lie of Santa." The Dallas Morning News; December 27, 2012; p. 14a.