Our culture does not think #storytelling is sacred, We don’t hold anything sacred except what religion declares to be so. Storytelling is a tool for knowing who we are and what we want, too. If we never find our experience described in stories, we assume that our #experience is insignificant. an artist can best speak clearly, yet leaving around words that area of silence, that empty space, in which other and further truths and perceptions can form in other minds.
-- Ursula K. Le Guin
@mona ''my adoptive homeland of the United States is sickening and dying partly due to the stories it tells of itself''
That is a very acute observation my friend, I would agree that the kinds of stories a nation tells itself must have some inherent deeper meaning, and an ability to invoke some self-reflection, otherwise they can indeed construct a false ideological narrative that is being repeated in mainstream consciousness.
Politicians are especially skilled at creating false stories.
@mareklach @mona It's heartbreaking, is what it is. Stroytelling can be one of the most amazing mediums in the world and should never be dismissed outright, yet that is what so many people do in Western cultures each and every day, including America. :/
As for those "false stories..." Ugh. It's all hypocrisy. Those with power are fine with everything so long as it benefits them. x-x;; If it doesn't, out it goes.
Thank you so much to the both of you for posting and sharing this!!
@ayachan @mareklach *whuffles, a little abashed, swishing her tail* thank you.
@mona @mareklach Aww, you're welcome. ^_^ Thank you, too! *smiles wide*
@mona @mareklach How can I write anything if stories are sacred? I am not sacred.
@mareklach @Finfell every being is.
@mareklach Perhaps it makes more sense in context -- where does that quote come from? -- but Le Guin's swipe at "religion" seems gratuitous and petty here. Aren't most religions based largely on storytelling? Stories of the Buddha; the intentionally silly and hilarious story of Jonah, making fun of narrowminded "prophets"; four (or more) very different stories of the life of the Christ; countless ancient origin myths and modern sermons -- all *stories* about real people or fictional characters.
@mareklach And if by "our culture" she means "late capitalism," doesn't it also rely heavily on stories, from almost scriptural Horatio Alger tales to tomorrow's Super Bowl commercials, some of which may enter the culture and be retold or alluded to for years? I certainly wouldn't argue that those stories serve a sacred purpose--far from it--but why would Le Guin deny that "our culture" holds the telling of stories like that sacred?
@BruceTindall She meant organised, I.e. dogmatic religion. The point, as far as I understand it is that telling each other stories (like legends, tales) is only regarded as a serious matter in culture when it’s wrapped in religion. Otherwise storytelling is publicly viewed as just a fun activity, that is not inherently necessary for the mental development of a person. But dogmatic religions do get that privilege in mainstream culture.
I agree with you that the severity can vary.
@mareklach the terrible thing about this is that while our culture does not regard storytelling is meaningful, it still tells itself stories yet does not realize that this is what it is doing.
because storytelling is, according to all the values our culture teaches us, infantile, something only children take seriously, mere entertainment at best to adults, fantasy and delusion at worst.
yet my adoptive homeland of the United States is sickening and dying partly due to the stories it tells of itself