Narratives

What they are and how they shape public discourse

When talking about politics, it’s easy to get caught up in debates about values, philosophies, ideologies, and worldviews. These are important debates to have, since they are the “programming” that lies behind the types of decisions that impact people’s political beliefs. They are what keep politics connected to a higher sense of what is right and wrong, true and false.

The problem is, normal people don’t think about political ideas in terms of abstract philosophies or ideologies. They aren’t contemplating the deep philosophical issues that lie behind ideologies such as environmentalism or the abortion debate. Normal people think of the world in terms of stories.

The Importance of Stories

Stories shape the way people view the world. When you wake up in the morning, you have a certain story in your mind about how the day will go. Older people tell stories from their past as part of their way of thinking about the story of their life, and younger people dream of the story that they will leave behind. They surround us in the news, in the books we read, and in the entertainment we watch.

When people think about issues in the world, they either consciously or subconsciously adopt belief in a certain story about how the issues, values, and philosophies play out in real life. These stories, or narratives, shape the decisions and policies that they believe should be influencing the future of our country. It’s like how most people don’t interact directly with the lines of code that lie behind the computer, but instead interact with the computer via an grapical user interface that helps translate “computerese” into information that’s meaningful for the average user.

It’s important for Solidarians to recognize this, because debating abstract issues and ideologies won’t translate into meaningful policy action if they are not wed to a compelling story that helps people understand why a given policy is the right decision.

Narratives and Politics

Both sides of the political spectrum understand the importance of narratives, and both sides are constantly finding ways to reinforce their narrative(s) in the public imagination. They do this in a number of ways. For example, news sources interpret current events within the ongoing, expanding story that the news source wishes to tell. Forms of media such as music, movies, and books all reinforce the values and narratives of their creators. Activists put on events and create documentaries that seek to introduce people to their ideologies’ narratives. An example narrative from the Left of the spectrum might look something like this:

“Humans in the past existed in a corrupt society that oppressed disadvantaged and marginalized groups and used them for the advantage of the power-holders. In order to ensure equality and justice, we need to overturn the old, oppressive way of doing things and give power to these marginalized groups. Therefore, support policies that give more power to the oppressed!”

In the same way, here’s an typical narrative that’s found on the Right:

“People in the past used to live in a thriving society that prospered and upheld good values. However, people on the Left made insidious inroads into society, and have now taken over our nation in an attempt to overthrow everything good and true. Therefore, join the opposition, and help us resist this movement to destroy our country!”

Notice how both narratives are describing approximately the same historical events, but are telling the story in a way that leads the hearer to support one cause over another. The stories each reinforce a certain set of values that the teller wishes the hearer to adopt. In both narratives, the “protagonist” is portrayed as the underdog, and the “antagonist” of the opposing ideology is portrayed as an evil, domineering power. In this way, both sides seek to gain sympathy and support for their political agendas.

It’s important to remember that just because both sides are telling the story from their perspective doesn’t mean they are being inherently dishonest. All humans on some level or another think about their lives and the lives of their nations in terms of a given story, and interpret the facts in the light of that story. The real question is, which story is true? That is, which story best represents the facts as they are, and which story reinforces belief in what is truly right and wrong?

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The takeaway for Solidarians is: if we want to be able to communicate our ideas in ways that are persuasive and compelling, and if we want our policies to gain traction with the greater public, we will need to become good storytellers. We will need to be able to tell stories and reinforce narratives that reflect our philosophy and motivate people to support our policies. We will have to do this on the large-scale—what story are we telling about our nation as a whole?—and on the small-scale—what is the story of this particular issue, and how does it relate to the large-scale metanarrative? By thoughtfully addressing these questions, we will be able to win more people to our cause, and begin to shape public discourse around the issues we care about.