Stories that change the world

I have to agree with Jake (see comments on last post) about the power of narrative. We act out of beliefs not because the data point us in a direction. That's why it is so hard to change what is happening in the world. We are so caught up in acting out the story that puts us in the role of the gods that we can't even see it. Joseph Campbell talked a lot about the power of stories in his work on comparative mythology. The movies are a great place to see the story we are living played out. The problem is finding a way to get people to hear a new story. (It's hard to even think of a new story, the one we are living is so pervasive and effective in eliminating any other way of thinking.) I like Daniel Quinn, especially the Story of B, for just that reason. There is nothing new in the science behind what he is saying, but the story sticks in your mind and makes you see things in a little different way. Once you can here 'Mother Culture' whispering in your ear, you can start to see the fallacies in our way of living. We need more people willing to say "NO! I will not live that way." We don't have to fight, we just have to opt to not play.

My kids love to watch Nova, National Geographic, Nature, and the like. I let them because I like them to think, and these programs encourage that. The other day they were watching something about early tool makers, and the story that brought us to this point came screaming out of the TV. "Humans are destine to dominate, shape, and control Nature." It's hard to live by a new story. It's even harder to teach others to do it.

I'd love to here examples of stories that lead to a new way of thinking, a new way of living.