Daily BrewSleep well, children: Santa Claus has a military escort
A debate has broken out over the perceived militarization of Santa Claus. Because a debate over his nationality just wasn't bizarre enough.
Yes, let's set aside our disagreement over what country Santa and his North Pole home belong to and look at the latest controversy to hit ahead of Christmas – a playful video that depicts Santa's sleigh being escorted by two Canadian Air Force CF-18 fighter jets.
The video is part of a decades-old tradition held by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track Santa has he travels around the world.
NORAD, usually tasked with the duty of guarding North America's airspace the rest of the year, spends December tracking and reporting on Santa's trajectory and whereabouts. Helper elves also field phone calls from children who want to speak to Santa.
The military unit usually goes all out, launching games, videos and a Christmas-themed website to join in the festivities.
[ Related: As NORAD tracks Santa, critics track NORAD ]
This year's holiday celebration included the release of a video with a five-second clip of a computer generated Santa sleight being protected by two jets.
When asked about the video, the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) said the clip militarized the tradition of Christmas.
Co-founder Allen Kanner told the Boston Globe, "Children associate Santa with gifts and fun and everything else that is positive about Christmas. They are associating this with the military in children's minds. It is completely out of line."
“It’s a backdoor way to market to children, and the military has no business marketing to children,” associate director Josh Golin told CNN.
[ More Brew: Let’s get serious about the ‘Santa Claus is Canadian’ debate ]
Golin has since said the group did not go seeking to protest NORAD, but had simply opined when asked to by the media. Still, the controversy grew online, with some expressing their own concern.
There were, of course, responses. Including this blog post on the conservative American Thinker website:
Protecting Santa from an al-Qaeda attack - or an attack by idiot liberals with nothing better to do with their time - is an appropriate mission for NORAD. The key is that the jets are there to act as an escort of honor - a concept one would think children should be exposed to.
A NORAD spokesman, however, says the video was in no way meant to militarize Santa. U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told the Associated Press that the jets in the video are unarmed.
"We really do feel strongly that it's something that is safe and non-threatening, and not something that would negatively impact children," he said. "In fact, we think that it's a lot of fun."
Indeed, NORAD did not seek out the opportunity to get involved in the Christmas festivities.
This is how the tradition began:
The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD (NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command) Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.
So let’s remember, that NORAD didn’t come calling for this responsibility, and the little piece of mirth they bring only adds to the festivities.
Of course, if parents don’t want their children to associate Santa with NORAD, they are free to get their tracking information from somewhere else. Or, heaven forbid, don’t minutely track every moment of Santa’s day.
I for one am happy Santa has access to a military escort. With Russia planning a military buildup in the Arctic, who knows what measures may be necessary.
