People sometimes wonder if Santa Claus can become a
political catalyst to satisfy their financial gains and political views. Some of these concepts may be true, but there
is often an individual motivation that is both satirical and perhaps egotistical
on the part of the writer. I, for one,
believe that the ideas of Santa Claus should be challenged on a personal and intellectual
level when it comes to a paradigm shift in our society. So I had three goals that I wanted to
accomplish when I wrote the storybook, Santa
and the Stranger.
My first goal was to pacify the sexist views of both
male and female members of our society. After
looking through hundreds of Santa Claus stories, I discovered that Santa Claus’
wife did not have a first name! She is
often referred to as “Mrs. Claus.” So I
did some personal research and began to ask people if they knew the first name of
Mrs. Clause. After a few moments of
reflection and soul-searching, most people began to realize Mrs. Clause has no
first name! So I did the only thing that
was logical: I named her after a saint of a woman in our neighborhood who more
or less personified everything that was good in a person.
The second goal of the story was to challenge the loss
of societal traditions that should be most sacred to both children and
adults. This challenge addresses tradition,
automation, and our systematic belief in the fantasy world.
My third goal or objective was to challenge both the physical and mental aspects of our voting system. With modern technology, important issues can be changed or hidden, often without our awareness. It is not unheard of for hackers to change an electronic voting system or to alter our bank accounts, personal records, and other private matters that are often unprotected. Using my imagination, I tried to leave the reader with the question, "What if …?"
Mrs. (...) Claus and Santa visiting town square in Prescott, Arizona, USA
(Book
10, a novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on
Amazon.com)
To read this
intriguing story, order your copy of Santa
and the Stranger, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback. Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F.
Kohn.)
