Moral and Ethical History of Society - Report Example

Stories tell the moral and ethical history of society. They explain what is expected of citizens and how brave, honest or forthright historical, fabled people have been. The relevance of the stories is in the timeless lessons taught. For example, the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes cautions people to think for themselves. A lesson relevant today when news is editorial and experts are spin doctors. Tim O’Brien writes: “That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.” (38) The value in these stories is not the historical accuracy or the details in the telling; it is to continue traditions and traditional values that society has agreed to honor. These traditional values are the morals of society. The truth value concerns the outcome. Does good triumph over evil? Is thinking for yourself not only truth, but valuable to society? Is bravery in the face of a common enemy, and winning against long odds rewarded? Does perseverance pay, like that little engine that could and did? Folk tales, verbal history, or just common stories explain the mainstream morals, and by extension, ethics of a group or society. They serve as language’s genetic memory. Reality and perception are closely tied. Perception is reality in context. These stories, common tales within groups and societies, bring a shared context to events. Images of Japanese cowardice and American bravery during Pearl Harbor were invoked after 9/11. The two events certainly were not tied in any way, but the similarity of a surprise attack, and a Nationalism regarding Pearl Harbor drew the comparison and context quickly to people not nearly of age to remember both events. In the article entitled Why We Need Stories, Mary states, “They answer eternal questions like, ‘How could this happen?’ And they help us build theories about why this could happen. Those are the two questions people will always ask about the Garden of Eden, and those are the two questions everybody had when the World Trade Center collapsed.” (Banaszynski 2011) Patriotism and nationalism certainly spread through stories of Nathan Hale, Patrick Henry, Valley Forge, the Emancipation Proclamation and other trying events common to the American psyche. Citizen’s perceive the country as great and founded by great men; and by extension, greatness is expected from all citizens. These historical sagas bring expectations of freedom and bravery to everyday life. In Mary’s answer, the emotional tie to stories is discussed. In O’Brien’s book, the chapter entitled “The Things They Carried” told stories about articles representing the soldiers’ homes and the “sanity” of their real world lives. The stories were emotional attachments to their own lives. O’Brien writes: “What they carried varied by mission” (O’Brien, 1990, p9) One common tale throughout the globe is how evil got loose on the world. The story of dismissal from Eden and Pandora’s Box explain how an abundance of curiosity leads to trouble. Adam and Eve were given paradise, with the exception of the fruit from one tree. Pandora, the Greek version of the first woman, had endless beauty and talent and was told to just not open one jar. Curiosity got the better of Pandora and Eve and they tested the limit set by the Gods. Of course, all evil was released. In Pandora’s case, she kept hope from escaping. The message in these stories is respect authority’s limits and do not be over-curious. Of course, morals, ethics and values are society specific. All three are interpreted within the context of societal norms. “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity” (O’Brien p.2) In a frontier country like the U.S., the Daniel Boone, Paul Bunyan and Davey Crocket tall tales spoke to bravery against impossible odds; whether they were wrestling grizzly bears or felling entire forests with the swing of an axe, or single-handedly fighting off the entire Mexican Army. Other cultures, for example Native American, told great hunting stories where brave men fed villages. Youth wants to be the next hero in a tale. Heroism populates tales across cultures. Societies need heroes. The youth of society need heroes. The World War II soldiers grew up on Alvin York triumphs. So what are the heroic stories today? Certainly comic book super heroes have invaded the movies and television to be iconic heroes. Rock stars captivate the youthful audiences, even “guitar hero” is a popular video game. Heroic stories are self-aggrandizing and arrogant now. The firefighters and policemen who responded to 9/11 held brief esteem. The soldiers fighting in the Middle East have not. Society may not have a specific need for real heroes now. The American culture has few shared needs and no central necessity. The stories have been told of great inventors and leaders who brought us fortune and technology. The only common goal is more. Alex responded that stories give context to events. Alex cited a book about a forest fire in Montana in which many firefighters died. When the author, Norman Maclean, was asked why he wrote the book, Maclean responded, “To find out what happened.” (Banaszynski 2011) The story of Lavender dying and the Lt. blaming himself reminds of this story, also in “The Things They Carried”. The Lt. carried the guilt and blame because he placed his daydream as an important factor in the story. O’Brien wrote: “Lavender was dead. You couldn’t burn the blame.” (O’Brien p.23) The Lieutenant still carried the loss of his troop in his head. He blamed himself and burned the photos and letters as a cleansing ritual to forget his past and future. To live in the moment so he could save the others through grim vigilance. He is not presented as heroic. Alex said, “Once you have a version of what happened, all the other good stuff about being human can come into play. You can laugh, feel awe, commit a compassionate act, get pissed, and want to change things.” (Banaszynski 2011) Folk tales are told to promote common goals, needs, missions and to own a common story. When the campfire is replaced with television, and news is replaced with spin, the message of heroism, truth, honor and adventure begin to wane. The modern stories refer to acceptance of diversity, accepting differing abilities, and modern versions of Pandora’s non-compliance. The Cinderella myth repeats in almost all cultures. The value of self-esteem and self worth drive many tales. Stories of great wealth through internet technology replace the railroads and steel stories. Pete suggested stories help dampen loneliness. He wrote of “interviewing” Mt. Hood. Pete quotes “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman to explain his sense of stories. (Banaszynski 2011) Like the Mumford Sons music, poetry and other art forms of storytelling give company and relieve isolation through the understanding of the common experience. Pete’s retelling about the mountain reminded me of “On a Rainy River”. This story of a physical barrier to freedom, the river between Canada and the U.S. explained O’Brien’s reluctance to turn his back on his own history, his own stories. And, since as Pete reminds, stories are for eternity, when memory is gone. (Banaszynski 2011) O’Brien did not want to have his story end in shameful cowardice, as he suggested draft dodging would be. O’Brien’s hometown people would not understand such an act. Stories shamed him into staying in the U.S. and being drafted. Stories, whether in the form of music, poetry, art or essay, express the mutual experience from an emotional level and put context in our lives. As Pete suggests, just have fun with them. Perhaps one of the irreplaceable losses in a technologically advanced society is folk tales. Movies do not show heroic reality, but realism is still valued. Movies do study time and technology as enemies. The current folklore in movies demonstrates how technology drives people further apart. Urgency seems to covet day to day activities with non-stop texting, emails and cell phones. Twenty-first century movies deal with the concept of time (urgency) versus truth and virtue. Even people in coma’s lead urgent lives (The Matrix). Hollywood may be replacing hunting stories and survival with a call to inaction, warnings that technology is way ahead of human endurance. Modern tales will fall back to the Emperor and his clothes. Perhaps now the Emperor accomplishes nothing by texting all day, but everybody lauds his great multi-tasking skills. Folk tales will survive because they are needed. We need to carry them for comfort and direction. References Cited Banaszynski, Jacqui. 2011. Why We Need Stories: without them, the stuff that happens would float around in some glob and none of it would mean anything. WEB: accessed 11 April 2011. http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitemprint.aspx?id=101486 O’Brien, Tim. 1990. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books. Read More