White Christmas, Irving Berlin, Santa Claus and Me

     Visiting the National Museum of Jewish Heritage in Phily today brought memories back of the first digital Santa Claus to reach tens of millions of people. Had I not seen the original sheet music to "White Christmas" at the museum, I'm not sure I would have remembered. Irving Berlin, a Jew, composed the music and lyrics that Bing Crosby and others interpreted into one of the most beloved songs of all time.

     He introduced it at a time when posted signs of "Gentiles Only" still existed in some parts of the country; a time when American Nazis organized in several USA cities, including in the Chicago area where I later grew up.

     I was Santa Claus from 2003-2005 for everyone who had a Buddy List on AOL or on the free AOL Instant Messenger, aka AIM. I grew up in a Jewish household. We didn't celebrate Xmas. I wrote, for lack of a better word, the script, for all of Santa Claus's Instant Messages and created the model for his behavior online.

     I wanted a Santa Claus bot (short for robot) that would IM with all those who needed some holiday cheer. You could play games in your Buddy List with Santa. He would respond to your questions and wishes in a fun, intelligent, sensitive way. I went to great pains to ensure that Santa handled obscenities and other coal-like behavior compassionately but also in disciplined way. Santa was fun, a little ditzy, wise, and genderless, in my mind at least. Thirty million people spent a lot of time with Santa/me.  Lots of them were parents who tapped IMs with their little kids sitting on their laps. Sarah Masters, UUCAVA's membership coordinator, remembers fondly IMing Santa!

     My middle-school and high-school aged nieces thought the Santa Claus in their Buddy Lists was stupid.

     I'm no Irving Berlin, to be sure. But like Berlin, I crafted a piece of entertainment that made people happy. Earlier in my newspaper career, I wrote stories about many people who didn't celebrate Xmas but who found ways of entertaining or supporting those who did. They understood the love, compassion and goodwill that Christmas meant for others. They wanted to reach out and witness, in a way, the meaning of the holiday, even though it wasn't their celebration.

     An intentional contribution to a holiday that is not of one's own faith is a form of radical hospitality, I believe. Irving Berlin's ability to compose a song that touches the heart of so many represents a deep connection and understanding of an inner Higher Good that we all share. The Santa Claus bot did too. It's the same sense of connection that inspires many people to volunteer to work Christmas Eve and Day so that their colleagues can be with their loved ones.

     I am grateful for all who work during the holiday as an intentional demonstration of faith in our common good. I am grateful for the life and work of Irving Berlin.

     Unfortunately, the Santa Claus bot became a victim of greed and ill will. Microsoft bought the technology and the bot moved to the Microsoft Instant Messenger. Developers there rewrote most of it, stripping it of personality and sensitivity. Within hours of its release, media stories appeared that Santa Claus was hostile and foul mouthed. Some Microsoft developer obviously thought it was funny. I remember thinking at the time that what Microsoft did shouldn't have been a surprise. The company was never about connecting human beings, or creating environments for hospitality, but rather about selling digital productivity tools.