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Tell Me A Story...
The kids are home from college this week, insatiably hungry. For some reason, our cooking, which tended to produce reactions that formerly involved bowls of cold cereal for dinner, seems to have improved to the point where anything hot with flavor has broad appeal. We hear statements like, "Wow, this tastes great!" and "Is there more?" This allows us to feel, briefly, like Good Parents, and to admire the brilliance and maturity of our kids. We are enjoying them.
Last night we watched a series of movies from my son Larry's DVD collection, while consuming mango-soaked pork chops with cashews and snow peas. As we watched, we discussed his recent essay on the use of the doppelganger in science fiction, and the music of Colin Hay. Afterwards, he went down to his old room to sleep (another thing he seems much more appreciative of now is a clean place to sleep). But before he went, we talked.
"Remember when you couldn't sleep until I read you at least a chapter from a book?", I said. He smiled. We have often reminisced about my reading to him every night, and I credit that with getting us through a great deal that came later. We are hardly alone in understanding the power of story to get us through tough times, but I see in him the ability to follow a throughline, and see around the bend a little ways, and I know we all need much more of that ability these days.
Along with the skill of being able to perceive and follow a narrative, I have been thinking a lot about two phenomena of human perception that seem prevalent now: the first impression/judgment moment when we get a piece of information or meet someone, and the "last click" moment. I've written about these before, but to recap:
We give ourselves less and less time to take in new information these days. Our judgments are snap. When we run into someone, whatever we go away with as impression about who they truly are comes from the first few seconds. At the same time, the visual image that stays with us is the "last click", and the sound bite we remember is the most recent one heard. This is why commercials are shorter and shorter, visually intense, and end with a pithy soundbite. Those advertisers know that we remember so little, so they package it neatly, in designs that are directed to the less conscious parts of our brains. We are busy people, stressed out, and they know it.
And so, what we have lost, and what I am grateful to still see in my son, is the ability to see the story we are in.
I have been thinking about it a lot as the scenarios in Congress play out, as the Democratic primaries jump all over the place, as people write online about their beliefs and impressions. I want to stop the people on the street and on the blogs and inside the bubble and ask them to tell me the tales of their day, their weeks, their journeys.
Is it a story of retribution? Of triumph over evil forces? Of Machiavellian techniques or Sun Tzu's Art of War? Is it a story of martyrdom or hope? Or is it about just hanging on...one...moment...longer........? Who is each of us in the narrative? Hero? Victim? Sage? Warrior? Janitor?
I think if we could begin to ask people these questions, we might, MIGHT be able to transcend the everyday horrors of trying to muddle through one crisis after another: not to a happy ending, because, as my son learned too early on, most stories do not end happily. But maybe, MAYBE we could pay attention long enough to see around the bend, and to know that, though the journey may be arduous, and the challenges difficult, if we see the path we are on, and treat those we encounter as teachers, we can learn something.
Most of you know this quote, which I have cited before:
“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting." Theodore White, The Once and Future King
At the end of this version of the King Arthur story, the King is defeated in battle, but wins the moral war. And although the forces of cynicism prevail, Arthur finds a way to pass along the lessons he has learned: though a young boy and Arthur's exhortation to tell the tale. I thought of it yesterday when George Bush vetoed the anti-torture bill, and again when Congressman Wexler wrote another email pushing for impeachment hearings. And I thought of it last night, after watching two very different films, both of which my son loves: Garden State and The Last Starfighter, and each of which feature a hero's journey.
My son is lucky; he attends a small college in a remote place, where he has time and encouragement to stand back and see where he has been and what he is learning and to envision what might be possible. The rest of us have to get through a far more challenging day of tasks and encounters and 30-second soundbites, quick first impressions and decisions that will impact our future but which we do not have time to research. But let us try to remember, today anyway, that each of us is the hero of our own journey, we are SOMEWHERE in the story, and that our main task is, always, to LEARN SOMETHING NEW.
And make the porkchops, of course.
Feed the world some of your stories today...
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Karen,
I am thinking about what you wrote.
At first I was inclined to believe that I don't have stories to share or that anyone would want to hear. However, upon reflection, I realized that I often share stories with my family, with my students, and with people here at the DCP.
I'm not always sure I'm sharing something that gives people hope for a better tomorrow. But I do know with discussions with my family that they are beginning to catch on to the fact that when I discuss politics, I am not discussing a name like Bush/Cheney, Republican/Democrat. Instead, I am discussing caring about people by having effective government, caring about our government by having honest and noncorrupt people serving in our government.
Little by little, they are beginning to see where or what I've been arguing about for 4 years.
On the other hand, I've also learned that I can get beat up by those same people for expressing my views (so frequently).
sparrow,
Well, yes, there is always the danger of the messenger being killed first...
Giving the message in a story has proven to be effective and I am sure that is why the form of story evolved. Remember the Arabian Nights...that poor woman who had to keep telling stories so the hegemonic ruler would not rape her and then kill her...
Although there are days when it FEELS like that is what I am doing, in fact, we are pretty lucky to be able to learn and teach relatively freely. So far, anyway.
Karen,
Speaking of stories...
I remember sitting at Camp Democracy and hearing Ray McGovern speak for the first time. The story that Ray told sent chills through my spine. He was telling us the story of Albrecht Haushofer who was a professor at the University of Berlin during WWII and the holocaust.
In Ray's words,
I think of this story often. Ray continued the speech discussing how Bush, Cheney, and the ptb came to the FBI to 'shake down information' that would lead to war, and the lesson I learned from Ray's speaking out and Albrecht Haushofer's letters was that evil does exist, but that you can't sit by silently and watch it devour those around you. And I think of MLK's words "A time comes when silence is betrayal."
The lesson for me, personally, was that silence is complicity. And that sometimes our own personal fear has to be set aside so that you can fight for the good of your family, friends, and neighbors.
Having heard Ray speak on other occasions on how the infrastructure of Germany was used to mobilize people against Jews and against other countries, I am further reminded of how close to the edge of fascism Bush, Cheney, Rove, the Republicans, the corporate Dems, and the beltway blobs have brought us.
Rove, as all of us know, intentionally utilized the churches to get out the vote for Bush and Cheney. Similarly, Hitler utilized the churches in pre-WWII to antagonize people against the Jews and other 'nonconformists' and other countries. Each county, each city, each town had the preacher enlisted to help spread Hitler's message. Those who didn't co-operate were removed.
It was truly a few brave clergy, university professors, underground dissidents who literally saved the world from extermination.
Today, as our country sits on the edge of economic doom, our coffers have been raped and pillaged, and our pResident torpedoed anti-torture legislation again, and our childrens' hopes for the future have been robbed, I have to take Ray's words with me.
They are the only thing that gives me strength to fight through the fear and cynicism. (Cynicism because the cynicism leads to apathy.) I want to be, and need to be, one of the people fighting for morality and justice, even though the world seems to be falling apart and sinking under its weight.
I do wish, however, that there were more courageous people serving in Congress, like Wexler, Kerry, Feingold, Kucinich, who seem to understand the sonnet: "I am guilty..." Maybe then, we wouldn't have impeachment off the table.
I'm finding the stories of ancient history endlessly fascinating as of late. To a certain extent, the Romans offer an excellent mirror for America. And we know, for a fact, that the Founding Generation studied them quite closely.
There are so many useful points of departure in any examination of Romans history - but the one that strikes me most often as of late involves Cato the Elder, and his constant exhortation that Carthage be destroyed.
The Romans had fought two previous wars with Carthage over a period of sixty years, from 264 BCE to 201 BCE, the second of which brought Hannibal and his elephants over the Alps, and into Italy. The Romans ultimately triumphed in both, and by the middle of the 2nd Century BC, Carthage was but a shadow of it's former self - and no threat whatsoever to emerging Roman hegemony in the Mediterranean. Yet, this did not stop ultra-conservative Cato the Edler from literally ending every speech he gave in the Senate with the exhortation that Carthage be destroyed.
Historians tell us that Romans were an oddly religious people. They feared the wrath of their Gods, and hence, held to an ethos that, on the surface at least, barred them from pursuing so-called wars of aggression. Most of us see the Romans today as profoundly aggressive - yet they had largely convinced themselves that each of their wars were ultimately defensive in nature - or, in terms we might better relate to, pre-emptive.
To make a long-story short, Cato's years of exhortations eventually had their desired impact - a final war against Carthage. This time the Romans captured the city, and literally burnt it to the ground. Legend has it that the rich soil of Carthage was even seeded with salt, so that no civilization would be able to feed itself in that place again. Even the General responsible for the conquest, Scipio Aemilianus, is said to have lamented the fate of Carthage, and to have regretted having to oversee the destruction of this cradle of ancient civilization.
Today, when I turn the TV, and listen to endless blather of the neo-cons, and pretend patriots on the Democratic side, I imagine myself as a participant. In this fantasy, when asked a question by the studio host, I say nothing but this phrase: “And Carthage must be destroyed”.
Matthew, the end of the Eagles newish song Long Road Out of Eden addresses the fall of Rome you talk about above. It's a great song - listen if you can!
Moon shining down through the palms
Shadows moving on the sand
Somebody whispering the 23rd Psalm
Dusty rifle in his trembling hands
Somebody trying just to stay alive
He got promises to keep
Over the ocean in America
Far away, and fast asleep
Silent stars blinking in the blackness of an endless sky
Gold, silver satellites, ghostly caravans passing by
Galaxies unfolding and new worlds being born
Pilgrims and prodigals creeping toward the dawn
And it's a long road out of Eden
Music blasting from an SUV
On a bright and sunny day
Rolling down the interstate
In the good old USA
Having lunch at the petroleum club
Smoking fine cigars and swapping lies
They say, "Give me 'nother slice of that barbecued brisket
Give me 'nother piece of that pecan pie"
Freeways flickering; cell phones chiming a tune
We're riding to Utopia; road map says we'll be arriving soon
Captains of the old order clinging to the reins
Assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains
But it's a long road out of Eden
Back home, I was so certain; the path was very clear
But now I have to wonder - what are we doing here?
And I'm not counting on tomorrow and I can't tell wrong from right
But I'd give anything to be there in your arms tonight
Weaving down the American highway
Through the litter and the wreckage, and the cultural junk
Bloated with entitlement, bloated on propaganda
Now we're driving dazed and drunk
Went down the road to Damascus, the road to Mandalay
Met the ghost of Caesar on the Appian Way
He said, "It's hard to stop this binging once you get a taste
But the road to empire is a bloody, stupid waste"
Behold the bitten apple, the power of the tools
But all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
And it's a long road out of Eden
Interesting, Carol. I'm glad that I'm not the only making the connection.
After listening to and reading Kevin Phillips' "Wealth and Democracy and "American Theocracy" (along with my own observations in Rustbelt Michigan which has been in an economic decline since the 1980's), I believe that the United States is no longer an economic super-power. Our manufacturing base has been migrating to China, Mexico, Japan, Canada and other places with lower labor costs and superior manufacturing technology. Economically China and India are thriving - surpassing the U.S. in production. Europe, as well, has resurged economically.
The other critical fact about American economic and political power is that we are now dependent on foreign sources energy. America's extraction of domestic oil peaked in the 1970's and has been declining ever since. Not coincidentally, the price of oil in the U.S. has been rising since that time.
The Bushies and other conservative types still do not see these problems. They are now determined to drill for oil in Alaska, both off-shore and in protected areas. Drilling in Alaska will only provide a small bandaid for our energy problems. The Bushies, unfortunately, really are not interested in restructuring our energy policy. They just want business as usual.
And BTW, click on this button for information on the March 19 observance of the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq:
Karen at 11:21:
That would be Shekherezade (sort of means the sugar princess, I think -- shekher means "sugar" or "sweet" I think and "-zade" is an aristocratic suffix for a family name, I think). The Rimskii-Korsakov piece based on that is one of my mom's favorites. She used to listen to that to get through math homework, she said, back in Park Ridge Illinois, where she graduated from Northwestern in 1947.
That's about when she met dad and some of the few things they had in common were classical music and voting for Adlai Stevenson.
Not sure what that means but it is a story....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ2ihgYqEp0&feature=related
For some reason the Roman thing really hit me hard a few months ago, it was listening about some signing statement that again defied the constutional setup of our Nation but went by unchallenged. And I had this flash of Roman reformers turning into emperors and I was less hopeful that this election woud be the means to reclaim our Nation than previously......
And hugs and love to the returning students!!!
(Larry-pls find my what the bleep dvd...)