A novel that I'm currently reading has a character who says*, "Narrative. Consumers don't buy products, so much as narratives". He explains that designers and marketers are taught to "invent characters, with narratives" and then create products, companies, etc. around those stories. One of my friends, a widely published Christian author and speaker, has a book titled The Story We Find Ourselves In.
Stories are important.
I want to tell you about the story I grew up in and contrast it with a different story that we are being force fed.
Story 1:
I grew up in the America of the 1950s and 1960s. America was The Good Guys. Our heroes wore the white hats in all the westerns. We lived by the rules, even when The Bad Guys cheated. And, as Dad explained, it's not true that might makes right. Rather, we were mighty because we were right.
In that America, we believed in freedom: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc. We were a mostly Christian nation, but we all believed that every American had the right to practice any religion. We might hate the religion you chose, but we were ready to die for your right to choose it.
In that America, we respected each other, even if we did not like each other. We believed in every American's right to pursue a better life. Free public education was the norm, and it was of very high quality. State universities were affordable and anybody who could do the work could attain a college degree and a good job.
In that America, facts were thought to be important. Business and government leaders who ignored facts soon stopped being leaders.
Whatever your religious beliefs, it is difficult to deny that the roots of this story are ancient and buried deeply in biblical teachings of loving our neighbor as ourselves -- and everybody is our neighbor.
Story 2:
In recent years, a new story has become increasingly popular. Its roots, too, are ancient, but based in fear. This is mostly a story of fear and hatred: The world is a scary place, so we have no choice but to fear and hate anybody who is not like us.
Which us? Most of the people who peddle this story are white and claim to be Christian. We are told to fear anybody who is not white or not Christian.
And we're told that facts no longer matter. That's essential for Story 2, because it is so very easy to completely discredit it, if you believe facts. Story 2 says that violent crime is at an all-time high. In fact, it has been diminishing for decades. Story 2 says that public education has failed us, and our children are not getting an education, so we must support other alternatives and starve the public schools into oblivion. In fact, standardized test scores tell a completely different story. Story 2 tells us that America is a "mess". In fact, as Donald Trump took the oath of office, nearly every economic and social indicator of national well-being had been improving for years. Story 2 says that Muslims are terrorists. In fact, most Muslims hate terrorism and most acts of terror in this country have been committed by white men who called themselves Christian.
During the painfully prolonged Presidential campaign, those of us who care about facts kept wondering when Trump would get specific about his policies and plans. He never did. Instead, he just kept feeding us his version of Story 2: Fear and hate foreigners, Muslims, and the press. But he's special. He can save us.
Trump fed us a story, and he continues to do so. Unlike most Presidents, he realizes that his true role is Storyteller-In-Chief. That realization explains why he doesn't bother with many of the things that other Presidents have done, things like reading the Presidential Daily Brief, or achieving a deep knowledge of international affairs, or agonizing over the details of a policy proposal. Instead, he jets off to his Florida White House and hosts a campaign rally from the steps of Air Force One. A campaign for what? Not for the presidency - he's already won that. This was a campaign for Story 2.
Which Story is True?
That's the wrong question. Both are demonstrably false. America never was The Good Guys who always played by the rules, and Trump's America is even more fictitious.
The correct question is, "Which story is it more profitable to believe in?"
My answer: Story 1.
Within Story 1, America became the preeminent nation in the world; and people of every race, color, and creed proved that this grand experiment could be a success, both for the nation and for every person who would commit to it. I, the son of a grocer who never finished college, became a military officer and later earned a doctorate. I have a satisfying and remunerative career as a software engineer.
But Story 2 would have us deny those opportunities to many of the people who have made America the great nation that it is. Make America great again? It never stopped being great. The immigrants Trump wants to keep out are not clamoring to get here because we're an inferior country.
Let's Be Indivisible
I have recently joined a local Indivisible group, because I believe that we can return to Story 1.
I like that name, Indivisible. It so clearly evokes the Pledge of Allegiance, "… indivisible, with liberty and justice for all".
The Indivisible movement is not about Democrats against Republicans. It's about American citizens (hopefully both Democrats and Republicans) trying to uphold the America that is promised to us in the Constitution.
When I accepted my commission as a military officer, I swore to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". Our current President and his Story 2 agenda are enemies of that Constitution.
Years ago, I resigned my commission, but I never resigned the oath. That's why I joined Indivisible.
I'm in the fight.
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*Zero History, by William Gibson, page 30.
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