Before you chuckle at kids who still believe in Santa Claus, . . .

[tblue37]

[recovering_democrat]

1. Santa Claus

I am in my 70s. I believe in Santa Claus. Really. I have seen and participated in amazing Christmas stories that are totally true.

That said, from his days in television shows of various types, as well as his intended versions of his assorted lies and political ridiculous behaviors, I have never had any single occasion to believe any single thing he has said or done to be accurate or truthful.

Just one adult opinion. To work on opinions for the upcoming New Year

[Hekate]

12. By "he" you mean Trump?

[plimsoll]

2. Well, Trump is real if a con man.

It can be proven empirically, let's talk about real make believe. What about people who still believe in Trickle Down Economics. Unlike Saint Nicholas, who actually did exist in one form or another at some point in history Trickle Down has never worked and the GOP has demonstrated it doesn't work several times in the last half century. You may not be able to prove a negative, but what would it take to convince some people.

[RobertDevereaux]

4. Santa Claus is real enough to me . . .

. . . that I wrote three Santa novels.

[packman]

5. WHAT!

Santa lives in every adult who loves the joy in a child's eyes as they rip open their presents which put their parents into debt for the rest of the year.

[republianmushroom]

6. Darn, I do like this and the truth does kicks butt.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. Who would laugh at kids who believe in Santa?

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Alas, The Sentiment Exists

Some years back, a nearly annual debate was held here on DU over the "abusive" element of lying to one's children about Santa.
There were several "truth no matter what" folks who refused to acknowledge the existence of a white lie.
Most of them thought children should be told as soon as possible that he was fake. A couple even said they'd tell other people's kids because "the truth" something something. I don't know that they ever acted on that threat.
I'm with you in that it's not reasonable to be ridiculing kids for having a child's fantasy. But, they were here. Hav8ng this fantasy was inherently bad, to them.

[old as dirt]

14. I've seen it, too, and been totally disgusted by it.

How did children become the enemy?

[sarisataka]

17. Not so much laughing at kids

But this is the first year I can recall not seeing posts that parents are abusive if they don't tell children the truth about Santa Claus.

[iluvtennis]

8. I believed in Santa as a kid, so I raised my kids the same way. They believed in Santa until they

were around 10 years old. They would put cookies next to the tree for Santa

[Sky Jewels]

9. Not to mention people who believe

an undead carpenter from Palestine is going to come back to Earth any day now. Oh, and he's the rape-produced "son" of the omnipotent creator of the 14-billion+-year old universe, but he somehow finally showed up on one little planet among trillions only a couple thousand years ago. ... Or Mohammad rode a flying horse to Heaven. ... Or the Angel of Death will not kill your firstborn if you put lamb's blood on your door. ... and on and on ...

[Skittles]

11. I remember back when that Heaven's Gate suicide cult happened

people were incredulous that they could believe in such craziness, even though "regular" church folk believe in, for example, virgin birth and rising from the dead....

[Sky Jewels]

15. Exactly.

I've heard "regular" Christians make fun of Mormonism. ... Umm, how are Golden Tablets found in 'Murika or magical undies any nuttier than the son of the omnipotent creator of the entire universe also being his own father, or any of the other primitive Mesopotamian mythologies they believe in?

[Aristus]

16. Better writers more than anything else.

I still marvel at the eloquence of the Book of Isaiah, and the brilliance of the Hemingway-esque writing of the Gospel of Mark.

Doesn't mean I believe any of it, but some of it is a good read.

Compare that to Joseph Smith's King James-style fanfic known as The Book Of Mormon. The writing is almost laughably inept, with nearly every paragraph beginning with "...and it came to pass..."

[Sky Jewels]

19. "It came to pass" is the older version of "yada yada yada..."

[Skittles]

20. I often say, it's all nuttiness

it is simply a matter of degree

I have to say, I have no problem with whatever bullshit people need to believe in order to get by in this world but when they start making laws based on that bullshit I DRAW THE FUCKING LINE

[Sky Jewels]

21. The Opus Dei nutjobs on the Supreme Ct. are the ultimate example of that.

They turned U.S. women into third-class citizens (after men and fetuses) because of their beliefs in stupid mythology and the Catholic Church's poisonous patriarchy and misogyny.

[Skittles]

22. yup

I think freedom FROM religion is way more important than freedom OF religion.....

[Sky Jewels]

23. So true!

And yet we’re often scolded for being “rude” and “bigoted” and “divisive” for being negative about “faith.”

[Skittles]

25. I hear you

it gets tiresome being told you need to cheer the fantasies of others....

[uponit7771]

13. K&R,

[onethatcares]

18. I'd have to say

I believe in Jesus, Santa and Bigfoot in no certain order.

I have never thought of believing in tfg.

[Mr.Bill]

24. Learning Santa was fake

is what drew me to Atheism. Lots of parallels there.