Fantasy

What is the role of fantasy in our daily lives? I'm not talking about the media genre but the state of illusion and daydream. I have a friend that decided he would raise his son without a belief in Santa Claus. He felt the fantasy was unhealthy for him since it was a "lie".

Maybe we should consider the difference between a lie and a fantasy. A lie is a deliberately false statement. Does fantasy ever require the purveyor of the illusion to deliberate a false statement? What if a child asks if Santa is real? What if the parent decides to continue the fantasy?

I think fantasy is okay (even healthy in many cases) as long as you can differentiate between reality and the fantasy. This works for adults but how do children do this? To them, Santa is reality. Does this mean the Santa fantasy is unhealthy for children? From personal experience, I learned that children can take it hard when parents have been telling them Santa is real and later they find out their parents never believed in the first place. This happened to my daughter and it was painful to witness her reaction.

Now, let's consider religion. Is the fantasy of religion healthy? Many people realize the Book of Mormon is fantasy but claim that the stories within are a powerful motivator, an inspirational fabric, and unique reminder of appropriate moral etiquette.

I think this kind of religious belief is okay as long as people understand it is not real. It is important that people don't try to convince others that the Book of Mormon is reality. That would be a lie.

Some of you might already know that I admire Lady Gaga. She is part fiction in my fantasy world. I have read about the real Lady Gaga in her biography and reject her true self on the grounds of my religious fervor for the human-divine.

My fictional image of Lady Gaga is part God, part feeling, and part disappointment. All three of these are flavors that when mixed together, taste amazing. Somehow, Blixa was able to portray just the way I think of her in my mind with her expert rendition:

Why do I admire this fictional image of Lady Gaga?

...to be continued...