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Of Adults Believing In Fairy Tales. And Of Men In White Coats

December 19, 2009

Charles Darwin Anton Goryunov writes from Moscow: Children can be forgiven for many things: for peeing into their pants or saying awkward things that sometimes result in adults charged with assaulting minors. Kida are kids and they often don’t understand what real life is all about.

They believe in Santa Claus, for example, and there is nothing wrong with that. You can tell them as many times as you want that Santa does not exist, that it’s just a fairy tale, that modern science has already established that it’s impossible to fly on a sledge because the laws of gravity would not allow it, but they would not believe you anyway. They would still write letters to Santa, asking him to bring them all sorts of toys, without suspecting that they are all made in China now and are sold in retail chains for extortionate prices.

And it’s the same with the Tooth Fairy, the Wicked Witch and the magical kingdom and animals talking to each other and to humans. You forgive children for believing in all these things because it makes their lives more exciting. And because they are kids.

But it’s a whole different ball game when adults continue to believe in the same things as kids do. Imagine, for example, bumping into a 40-year-old individual, who would tell you, in all seriousness, that he has written to Santa and asked him for a big inflatable doll? How would you feel about that? Would you a) accept it as perfectly normal; b) suspect that the guy is drunk or on dope; c) walk away, hastily; or d) make a discreet phone call to summon the men in white coats?

You’ll probably opt for b,c or d. And it would be understandable, and the public opinion would be on your side in this matter.

And how would you feel if a grown up woman would tell you that she had left a tooth under her pillow and found a banknote the next morning. It’s the Tooth Fairy, she’d tell you, with an absolutely serious expression. She always brings me money when I leave a tooth under my pillow. Would you a) nod keenly, implying that you can imagine such a thing happening; b) run away as fast as possible; c) ask the woman if she’s taking the piss; d) summon passers-by, wrestle the delusional female to the ground and summon the men in white coats.

Again, the first scenario somehow would look very unlikely. Just like it would be quite strange if some adult would tell you he’s heard a beautiful real life story about a prince, who was turned into a frog by a wicked witch, and then a young good looking broad kissed him, due to some strange chain of events, and the frog turned back into a handsome prince, who married her and they lived happily ever after.

You would obviously think that the person in front of you is a bit off his rocker and retreat or even summon the men in white coats.

Which brings me, rather neatly, to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Children could be forgiven for accepting that fairy tale. They basically take your word for it. But it gets seriously scary when adults tell you that they have evolved from the animal kingdom and consider apes and monkeys to be their close relations. Now, how does that differ from a kid telling you that he believes in the prince and the frog set up, or that Santa brought him a present recently, or that the Tooth Fairy left a buck under his pillow in exchange for his tooth?

There’s not much difference, is there? Especially when you get people, who call themselves scientists and write whole books about the Tooth Fairy and the prince/frog/prince transformation, as if they were scientifically proven facts. And yet no one thinks that they’re nuts. And no one summons the men in white coats.

– End –

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