Letter about narratives…
To the Editor,
Narratives are parasites eroding truth. Narrative is the representation of a situation in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values. Narrative engines of today are known as CNN, FOX, CBS, and NBC to name a few. Though not an attempt to defend one narrative engine over the other, Americans are dangerously decreasing their ability to form personal beliefs in exchange for an indoctrinated narrative.
Narratives iterated through media entities are illogical at best and immoral at worst. There is a growing sense that information digested from traditional media narratives are true. The question one may ask is why would media entities fragment the truth. Historically and theoretically, the answer lies in power through social influence and the ability to frame political issues. Unlike the explicit balance of powers described in the formation of any political system, the only entity with endless power and influence is what folks in the 19th Century coined the fourth estate; the press. It is irresponsible to think that our media entities of today are driven by values other than that of influence to enhance their power both economically and politically.
Unfortunately, the line between genuine personal belief and indoctrinated narrative is terribly blurred. We all take in enormous amounts of information daily to formulate our perspective. The intent of this letter is to excite a more genuine pursuit of truth in that formulation. Take a second away from narrative engines and listen to your internal voice saying “that was not true” or “you do not believe that.” Realize that regurgitation of centralized narratives takes away societies power. The deliberate degradation of an individual’s ability to express their own belief is a direct assault on your basic right of free speech.
Jacob Sass