Previously posted over at my blog, this is a meditation on the power of story that focuses on how a slight change in emphasis in the story of 9/11 that we already know leads to radically different policy prescriptions.
We understand the world through story. Fables, parables, fairy tales, religious accounts, myths, campaign narratives, history. These stories contain - beyond characters, plot, and style - truths about how the world works.
The fable of the ant and the grasshopper demonstrates how hard work pays off in the end; through Little Red Riding Hood, we learn of the dangers of the forest and the world at large; with the story of Abraham and Isaac, we see demonstrated the radical nature of faith. The truths in these stories are often subtle things - allowing differing interpretations, competing lessons, contrasting understandings. But with each telling, the story offers something complete - some understanding about the world and an implied prescription or proscription.
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