Throughout this past fall and up to now, I’ve been hearing and engaging in conversations about the importance and power of stories and storytelling. It’s not that this is new to me as I’ve been part of confirmation classes and retreats using the hero’s story as a launching point, had conversations on the hazards of single stories, and have heard powerful storytelling. So the idea that stories matter is not new to me, but it seems that the past several months have been emphasizing the point.
The stories we tell matter at the individual level and at the communal level ranging from the story the neighborhood swim team tells new and perspective families to the stories our national leaders tell to their supporters and critics.
For almost a year now, we have been offered stories of medical professionals working heroically to treat large numbers of COVID-19 patients and scientists sharing their growing knowledge of the virus; stories of small businesses adjusting and/or shutting down and food pantries struggling to keep up with the exploding demands due to unemployment increases.
Then last spring and summer the spotlight was once again sharply refocused on the stories of injustices experienced by people of color, specifically stories tied to the pandemic and law enforcement. People took to the streets and public spaces to keep the country’s eyes on the stories of a broken justice system.
But there were other stories told that paralleled these stories. Stories that the virus really wasn’t that bad, being asked to wear a mask was infringing on freedoms, shutting schools, businesses, and other organizations was government overreach. There were stories that protesters were thugs and extremists just bent on destroying neighborhoods. There were stories calling other stories fake. And then more counter-stories.
Who tells the stories matter. This is why character and integrity matter to truth and storytelling. Stories that are untrue need to be dismantled. We need to tell not just better stories, but truer stories of events and who we are. I know many will agree when I say that one of the biggest stories, the biggest American myth that needs to be debunked is that of the “self-made man”, or person if you prefer.
That person doesn’t exist, can’t exist except for maybe the one who chooses to live as a hermit. That story is a lie. Whether it’s from birth into a high station or from having nothing and much support and opportunities along the way, there is no “self-made” person. We all had people before us who gave us our starting position and we’ve had people walking besides us offering support of all kinds, opening doors, and pure dumb luck/chance/stars aligning, whatever you want to call it. This “self-made” image of the American individual has damaged our ability to see every last one of us as important to our society and with something of value to contribute.
Our public models so often are white collar criminals, celebrities of all sorts, the uber-rich with unlimited resources, public and business figures with questionable ethics. When our young people look at career choices based on which has the most dollar signs in the pay range, we need to tell better stories.
We also need to tell true stories, honest stories of who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. Sugarcoating the hard stories of our past will not take us to a better place of freedom, justice, and peace.
So I wonder, as we approach a year since the start of the pandemic which was also layered with racial justice stories and national election stories, if we need to start telling and focusing on other stories. The bad, ugly, and heartbreaking stories are always front and center. The stories that speak of our better side are often overlooked or at best fill gaps at the end of the news hour or on a page.
What good things are good average people doing to better their communities and the world? I’m not talking about a one time, random act of kindness that goes viral. I’m talking about the everyday stuff. What are people doing on a daily basis that makes a difference in the lives of others?
The stories we tell matter. They inspire us…for good and bad. So what if we started telling different stories? Stories that inspired our better angels more than our dark side? Stories have power and the stories we hear a lot are about power, greed, selfishness, egos, exceptionalism, and so on. We need stories with better models. We need to tell and hear better stories, as we model what we see and hear, including hopelessness and despair. Some may think this is just wishful thinking. Fine. But I believe that in general, people are good. And I believe in the power of stories to speak and inspire that goodness, regardless of how far down it’s buried.
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