The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1943-12-25

SANTA CLAUS
One of the most disllusioning experiences OF
American youth comes with the discovery lnat the
apple-cheeked guy, be-whiskered and bedecKeo III
firehouse red, who brings gifts from toyiahd ~
Gated in the middle of the Arctic Circle is no more
than myth While the discovery a11ects young.
sfers differently according to their natures most OF
tbem find that the truth is very hard to take. Some
perverse little souls persist in their belief longer
than others because they simply refuse to accept
the facts which seem to offer no SUBSTITUTE 1or 50
pleasant fiction
There is another little myth which American
children are taught and which many of them persist
IN clnp;np to all their lives no matter how often
thew are told the facts. This is the myth which
Senator Cotton Ed Smith so passionately defends.
It is the myth of white supremacy. Last week we
reported how Senator Smith got up on the floor OF
the Senate and shouted for the world to hear that
he was wiling to die by this myth.
It probably is very pleasant fiction tor some
people to believe that God stayed up all night putting
little extra touches on their race when He was Gre
atinp this world These little extra touches made
YOU superior to all others and gave you the right
strut up in front of the human parade Hitler Tor
instance, probably takes real delight IN rejecting
on the skill of the Creator in making Aryans, those
blue-eyed Germans and picturesque little Japs.
It must be terribly discomforting, too, for those
who believe in this myth of racism to discover that
all the little stories they had been told, about how
wonderful they are and how much better than Others
were all tall tales spun out of the imagnations OF
men. So frightening is the truth that some who
want to cling to this myth have lynched and cruel
fed those who dared to bare the facts. Life for
oebbels and Gearing would be unbearable If it were
not founded on this colossal lie Of racinn.
The myth Of Santa Claus for all the heartbreak
Il brings to growing Yuth has added new joys to
our culture. It has prSsded opportunities Tor ram
ilial experiences which are cherished by Americans
of all ages and which are celebrated in the songs
and literature of our country. The myth OF racism
for all the wicked pleasure it brings to those who
believe in it has brought nothing but misery and
strife, violence and death to our own country and
to all the world The racist myth is evil in essence
and delight for the devil. 1t is sacregious while
the myth of Santa is sacrosanct.
The Christmas season which is symboized in
Santa Claus has it's origins in the biblical account
of the birth of the Christ Child, the messenger OF
universal love- In this war torn period when human
life is being consumed on the altar OF racism, we
welcome the spirit Of Christmas and all its symbols
with open heart. While hatreds reap their awful
harvest, we are desperately seeking the avenue to
a new world, world in which the myth OF raclsm
cannot grow ana IN winch all IHeH Call AVc WILING.
the wicked fantasies which bring war and death.
1t is high time we Americans grow up and face
the realities of life and put behind us the lies which
becloud present and menace the future. Our des
tiny should be in the hands of and not children
who are immature and unsuspecting. 1t is a cruel
thing for the fate of the world to hinge on the
actions of credulous FOOLS Let fight to make the
world safe for truth by crushing the power of those
who live by the myth of racsm.
Cotton Ed Smith and his cohorts should be iso-
lated and placed on some deserted isle where they
could keep company with COLLINS and bogeys of their
own imagination. They have no place in grown-up
world where their actions affect the lives of the
American people, Let US have the myth of Santa
Claus to entertain children and to bring JOY
to their young hearts. We will leave the tall tale
of superiority to Cotton Ed and let the old foo
entertain h m S e If with the illusions Of his own
grandeur The fumbling old idiot would probably
die happy too.