How do we sort truth from BS? |
Maybe we need to respect story more. We live in a world where people swallow stories whole without question. Stories are fast food these days. Mickey D story hour. How do we fight back when people consume stories like fast food? I make things up. I’m a storyteller. I wrote a story titled “I Saved Jesus " when I was eight years old. It was about seeing the church on fire, and I rushed in, grabbed the tabernacle, and rushed back out with the body of Jesus in hand. It was published in the church newspaper. I’ve been making things up ever since. Stories are the blood of history. A good one can start a religion, launch a war, or skew an election. My heroes are the great storytellers. “The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” – Muriel Rukeyser Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Brothers Grimm, Tolstoy, Joyce, Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote a story legacy that transcends cultures, time, and form, a dreamscape that guides us and shapes our understanding of impossible things. Stories unite us and divide us, enlighten us, and lead us down dark roads to a valley of confusion. Such is their power and consequence. The power of stories is greater than any power on earth. Or in the stars, for that matter. I believe in the power of storytelling. After all, I’m the boy who saved Jesus. Of course, there are all types of stories. Myth, fable, epic, tragedy, comedy, romance, allegory, sci-fi, memoir, fiction, horror, autobiography. Life is a story, and all of us are writing our unique tale. Each sketches a tale of morality, identity, struggle, mystery, and wonder. We live for our stories, and our stories help us live. They sort things out for us, guide us, and make us laugh. They also deceive us, put guns in our hands and march us into battle, drive us to our knees, maim us, and kill us. There are stories of hope and stories of despair, and we seem to hear one then the other in a pattern that repeats over thousands of years. We never write ‘The End.’ It is not up to us to write those words. Our job is to take these stories in, live by them, or learn from them. But the one thing we never do is ignore them. We want to believe our stories and follow where they lead. We need a flag to carry, an anthem to sing, and a myth to believe. It’s how we define ourselves and deceive ourselves. But fair warning. Be careful, oh storyteller, because the power of stories is a power that can lift you to the greatest heights or turn on you and leave you hanging from a lamppost. What we need is better truthdar, and to get that, consider the motive of the storyteller. How do we sort truth from BS? The motive. Just like a detective in a mystery story. Find the motive and you’ll find the culprit. The most enduring stories come with truth stitched into the DNA of the tale. From fable to fiction, every great story springs from truth. If you take up a story and lead people with its power, but you are weaving a tale of lies, the story you told will wrap you in tentacles and squeeze the life out of you. As great as is the power of a story, the power of a lie is a dark force from which no one can escape. So, tell your stories. We all must live and tell our tales. It is our purpose. It is our humanity. It is our responsibility to leave these breadcrumbs for those who follow. But be careful. A tale told to gain power only, to deceive for greed, or to misuse the power of stories to serve a selfish need is told with a steep price that will be paid. No one escapes the power of a story that is a lie. No one. Phillip Pullman said, “After nourishment, shelter, companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” Stories bring us together and connect us. There are no borders or walls in great stories. Stories are bridges from one culture to another. Stories break down our differences and show us our common humanity. Tell your tale and tell it well. |
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