So moving. And edifying for those of US, children & adults alike, ready to burrow beneath the ILLusory FANtasies for the cold yet somehow freeing #factsOfLife.
ReciproCITY BEing THE keystone overarching comFORT, here’s a little gIFt: an ORIGINal ChristMAS chant:
Incredible piece on narrative collapse as education. The blue-light tree bit is a gutpunch because it shows agency without outcome, which is basically the whole architecture of childhood poverty in one image. What stands out is how Olivette gave truth not comfort, which runs counter to every parenting script but actualy built something durable. I've seen similar moments play out in research interviews where folks pinpoint the exact instant they stopped buying collective fictions, and there's always this weird mix of grief and relief.
👍 A hard "truth", a more durable one; still a welcome gift. I might have been 23 or 24 at the time of your story -- things were rather thin on the ground for me too then.
But that reminds me, probably as a child of 9 growing up in the hinterlands of BC (anything more than 50 miles north of the Canada-US border), that my younger brother was devastated on learning then that there ain't no Santa Claus. Maybe as a result of which he put his faith in Jesus, not that that is entirely misplaced.
But an intestering dichotomy between faith and reason that has undergirded my own life since then. Arguably can't do without either, though the scope and boundaries of each are a fascinating puzzle.
🙂 Though seem to recollect someone pointing out that it only took the Church some 400 years to acknowledge Galileo had been right. But reminds me of a similar case, a quip from a famous biologist, J.B.S. Haldane:
Wikipedia: "Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot live without her but he's unwilling to be seen with her in public."
Teleology being something of a dirty word in many philosophical circles, echoes of "intelligent design" and all that. Brings out the philosophical equivalent of holy water, wooden stakes, and crucifixes:
While this probably gets into comparative theology about which I know next to nothing, you might still have some interest in its comparison between Christianity versus Islam on that score:
TIME: In the part of the speech that has become famous, the Pope was actually putting forth only one central “truth”— certainly a provocative one—that Christianity is beholden to reason while Islam is not.
Santa never made sense to me, even at a young age.
My mom knew so she would give me the wink so that I didn't tell my sister. Today my sister doesn't believe in Santa etc but she does fall for the bullshit medical system. 😢
Fairy tales are what feeds the cycle of bullshit that excuses illogical behavior.
Santa Claus is the American dream of capitalism.
-if "WE" deem you nice, you can be rich
-if "WE" deem you naughty, you'll get coal
Adults that resort to fairy tales to explain reality are deluded.
This includes economics, politics, 'science', etc....
I put science in quotes because they are obsessed with their own fairy tales of invisible contradictory things...
Quantum theory, which is magical thinking applied to physics.
Poverty is crony capitalism’s unforgivable sin.
So moving. And edifying for those of US, children & adults alike, ready to burrow beneath the ILLusory FANtasies for the cold yet somehow freeing #factsOfLife.
ReciproCITY BEing THE keystone overarching comFORT, here’s a little gIFt: an ORIGINal ChristMAS chant:
Hail Mary,
to BE merry
(Hail yeah)
Appreciatively,
LewALincolnWelge.com
#CREATORS (Counselor Reenactor Educator Activist Truther Organizer Reader Socializer)
The first sign my niece was beginning to doubt the Santa story: “Hmm. Santa uses the same wrapping paper as Mom.”
Brook, this was beautiful. You need to post more often.
Incredible piece on narrative collapse as education. The blue-light tree bit is a gutpunch because it shows agency without outcome, which is basically the whole architecture of childhood poverty in one image. What stands out is how Olivette gave truth not comfort, which runs counter to every parenting script but actualy built something durable. I've seen similar moments play out in research interviews where folks pinpoint the exact instant they stopped buying collective fictions, and there's always this weird mix of grief and relief.
This beautiful story brought a tear to my eye, the good kind.
It's like you gave me a Christmas gift.
Thank you.
that’s the best compliment i could possibly receive!
thank you, truly—and merry christmas✨
👍 A hard "truth", a more durable one; still a welcome gift. I might have been 23 or 24 at the time of your story -- things were rather thin on the ground for me too then.
But that reminds me, probably as a child of 9 growing up in the hinterlands of BC (anything more than 50 miles north of the Canada-US border), that my younger brother was devastated on learning then that there ain't no Santa Claus. Maybe as a result of which he put his faith in Jesus, not that that is entirely misplaced.
But an intestering dichotomy between faith and reason that has undergirded my own life since then. Arguably can't do without either, though the scope and boundaries of each are a fascinating puzzle.
catholics know that science and faith have been seeing each other on the DL for quite some time 😉
🙂 Though seem to recollect someone pointing out that it only took the Church some 400 years to acknowledge Galileo had been right. But reminds me of a similar case, a quip from a famous biologist, J.B.S. Haldane:
Wikipedia: "Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot live without her but he's unwilling to be seen with her in public."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._S._Haldane
Teleology being something of a dirty word in many philosophical circles, echoes of "intelligent design" and all that. Brings out the philosophical equivalent of holy water, wooden stakes, and crucifixes:
https://figsinwintertime.substack.com/p/on-the-question-of-cosmic-meaning
While this probably gets into comparative theology about which I know next to nothing, you might still have some interest in its comparison between Christianity versus Islam on that score:
TIME: In the part of the speech that has become famous, the Pope was actually putting forth only one central “truth”— certainly a provocative one—that Christianity is beholden to reason while Islam is not.
https://time.com/archive/6939686/does-islam-flout-reason-why-the-popes-case-is-a-flimsy-one/
Santa never made sense to me, even at a young age.
My mom knew so she would give me the wink so that I didn't tell my sister. Today my sister doesn't believe in Santa etc but she does fall for the bullshit medical system. 😢
Fairy tales are what feeds the cycle of bullshit that excuses illogical behavior.
Santa Claus is the American dream of capitalism.
-if "WE" deem you nice, you can be rich
-if "WE" deem you naughty, you'll get coal
Adults that resort to fairy tales to explain reality are deluded.
This includes economics, politics, 'science', etc....
I put science in quotes because they are obsessed with their own fairy tales of invisible contradictory things...
Quantum theory, which is magical thinking applied to physics.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkdAkAC4ItcFyNFBywN0wiZ45pCnMr-Ay
“medicine” as it’s currently practiced, is solidly an equivalent fairy tale. cheers to the cunning folk of today who expose it.