Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • "The Danger of a Single Story"
Saved by Prashanth Narayan and
Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
Stories function like the streetlight in a moral as well as a practical sense. The light illuminates those who are good, who count, who should be thought of as ‘us’; it leaves in the darkness those who are bad, who don’t matter, who can be dismissed as ‘them.’ American linguist and political scientist George Lakoff calls this effect ‘framing,’ and
... See moreJon Alexander • Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us
We are creatures of story, at our strongest when we tell of how the forces of good can conquer evil, and at our weakest when we allow others to tell our story for us in terms of false virtues and little more than what makes us content.
Alex Evans • The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren’t Enough
Stories matter. They can trap us, but they can also inspire us.
Jon Alexander • Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us
What other stories can be told? How do people recognize that they have the power to be storytellers, not just listeners?
Rebecca Solnit • Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
“What is it about stories—what are their particularities—that enables them to work as they do? More than mere curiosity is at stake in this question, because human life depends on the stories we tell: the sense of self that those stories impart, the relationships constructed around shared stories, and the sense of purpose that stories both propose ... See more
The Evolution of Storytelling
It’s a human need to be told stories. The more we’re governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible. — Alan Rickman
Dan Kennedy • Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Our stories can shape who we are.
Bernadette Jiwa • Story Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are
I've always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person. The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity.