Telling True Stories Blog

"Stories are the connective tissue of the human race..."
-Katherine Lanpher

The section in "Telling True Stories" describes very well why stories are so important. They allow people who were not present during certain events to experience those events. Therefore, people who are willing to tell stories are the individuals that bind people together through thought.

The effects of binding people through stories may not occur due to a disagreement with the conveyed knowledge or ideals but for those that are receptive there can be many affected aspects. People that are listening to the story may gain a moral insight, historical understanding, realization of perspective, or greater understanding of factual information.

Jesus told parables to his followers to teach them morality. This was done with increased efficiency through the use of stories. It provided an entertaining aspect to a serious subject that would be better received by listening to another individual's experiences. It is human nature to feel an empathetic connection to others.

When historians discuss the events of the past they almost always site specific examples that are accompanied by stories that are representative of the events that occurred. These help the average human's empathetic connection to be more willing to receive the knowledge that the story teller is attempting to convey. The history of the events will then be better received and less likely to be forgotten. The knowledge of the history will then be continued.

One of the most important aspect of story telling that plays into the deepest aspect of the human connection is the understanding of perspective. For some the understanding of perspective is automatic, but, for those that are less aware, stories provide the perfect tool to force people to see a varied perscpective. The story can force people to visualize the events that others endured. Stories are "the connective tissue" that links one human mind to another.

Factual information is often glossed over and seen without due appreciation when it is presented without an accompanying story. For a would be conveyer of factual information, a well told story is one of the best means to achieving the necessary thought process in the recipient of knowledge for the acquisitition of factual knowledge.

Stories are the primary reagent for catalyzing the thoughts that create "the connective tissue of the human race."

In "The Narravtive Idea," by David Halberstam, there is, what i perceived to be, a competition between print journalist and television news. I do not feel that there should be such a competition. Television is just more efficent and quicker. It is not as though journalism has been taken out of the news realm or that it is no longer effective. The role has just been changed. It is time for story tellers to utilize the television aspect more as the first step in conveying knowledge. A picture is said to be worth a thousand words, let that hold true. Let the writen word be used as a means of response and communication for less pressing information. Let the written word be used as the leisure entertainment for those that never really stop thinking when the relax.