When it comes to the cognitive understanding of the world around us, the most powerful influence is a clear (and generally-accepted) narrative. And often, a narrative that has either been widely accepted, or has achieved significant impact in a society, may or may not be based on actual truths or facts.
In fact, without a clear narrative, truth becomes irrelevant. Events (truths) are happening constantly--every second: A tree falls in the forest; the earth revolves around the sun; a Greyhound bus is leaving a station.
But without a clear narrative, those events are meaningless, especially when it comes to understanding them within a societal context.
That is why any social movement that tries to take on "The Establishment" may be doomed to fail if it's not able to (eventually) coalesce around a clear and concise narrative. That narrative has to become powerful enough to represent a credible counterweight to The Establishment's narrative.
There are two important elements necessary for a narrative to become generally-accepted: cohesiveness (uniformity), and repetition.
It's like the ancient story-telling entire civilizations relied on throughout history, to make sense of the world around them. And the power and influence of "story-telling" has not diminished in modern cultures.
Within the context of the current protest movement against government corruption, corporate greed, and the exploitation of the citizenry, taking on The Establishment's narrative represents a daunting challenge.
And the reason for that is because the "cultural narrative" (or metanarrative) is usually defined by the "power structure" or "The Establishment."
One key important aspect of today's struggle is that the reason a protest movement has arisen is because the "power structure" has become corrupt and oppressive. Nevertheless, because it has control of all the major levers of power, it is still able to put forward the most dominant narrative--because it's cohesive, and because it's constantly repeated.
The Power Structure and Its Narrative
The Establishment, or "the power structure," is comprise of members of the wealthiest people in the United States, and most of the political class (of both major parties).
The main vehicle the power structure uses to get its narrative told (over and over) is the so-called mainstream media. That is why corporate interests spent decades methodically taking over much of the media landscape in the U.S.--to turn it into its mouthpiece.
The rest was relatively easy. First they define their objective: Unfettered accumulation of wealth and power enabled by influence peddling in our political system (wholesale corruption of the entire political class).
Then they justify that objective with a powerful narrative: The American Dream. Every individual is free to pursuit happiness, and to achieve the highest levels of success and wealth in a free-market economy, through hard work, entrepreneurship, piety, and discipline.
Wealth, success, and power thus become evidence of having achieved the American Dream, and should be celebrated (and protected).
Then this message is associated with being a true American, of being freedom-loving, of being pro-free market.
And the message is then repeated in multiple ways over and over. Our brains are bombarded with it 24/7. And thus, it becomes the generally-accepted narrative. Not because it's true, but because it has a cohesive message (or story), and because it is constantly being repeated.
The Narrative Based on The Truth
As I mentioned above, for a narrative to become generally-accepted there are only two key elements needed: a cohesive message (storytelling), and repetition. It is not necessary for the narrative to be based on the truth, or on facts.
I would argue that the protest movement came about as a direct reaction to a fundamental fact: An increased level of oppression and exploitation of the general population by an "Establishment" that has become utterly corrupt.
So the movement sprung up based on the "truth." But for it to be successful, it needs to get to the point where it is able to convey that "truth" through a cohesive narrative, that is then repeated over and over until it becomes generally-accepted--in order to get to a tipping point.
What could the narrative be? A greedy, exploitative, and sociopathic group of wealthy people have been able to buy off the entire political system (through influence peddling). They have become a Plutocracy, and has waged war on 99% of the population.
They represent the opposite of the American ideal, in everything from the concept of free markets, to capitalism, to democracy, to justice and equality under the law.
Their greed, and avarice, and lust for power represent a true parasitic class that if left unchallenged will eventually destroy the country.
People standing up against this parasitic class are patriotic, are true believers in democracy, and in a (properly regulated) free market, and in true capitalism (means of productions privately owned and operated for profit). They believe in the functions of a (clean) government that focuses on maintaining a level playing field (market, and rule of law), national defense, and a strong social safety net.
And finally, the people rising up against the parasitic class would have very clear demands: Forbid political campaign fundraising from corporations (and any other institutions); only individuals should be able to make campaign contributions (and with a maximum of, let's say, $250.00). Rescind corporate personhood. Restore the rule of law by conducting proper investigations of crimes committed by Wall Street. Reinstatement of a progressive tax system.
Of course, I understand that coming up with a clear narrative is not an easy task. My contribution here is to try to make the point that the protest movement needs to be based on a clear narrative, and a clear set of demands and expectations.
For example, if I were to march with 50,000 people to the White House, and to my surprise, the president asked to talk to "the leaders" to inquire about the "demands" of the protesters, at least I know I would be ready: Here are my five demands.... And I'll go down the list regarding corporate personhood, removing money from campaign financing, a massive trillions-dollars (stimulus) investment in infrastructure (bridges, schools, roads, etc), the proper investigations of (alleged) crimes committed by Wall Street banks, nationalization of failed banks (most of the big banks).
Of course, I would not say things like I'm against capitalism, or talk about personal stuff, like not being able to find a job, or pay a mortgage, or student loans.
A social narrative cannot be about an individual's personal problems, or amorphous concepts.
It should be based on good storytelling... I'm a patriotic American who is worried about the deterioration of the country, or democracy, of freedom, of the free market. I believe that a small group of what could be characterized as sociopaths because their utter disdain of democracy and freedom and what America stands for, has been able to corrupt the entire government through influence peddling, and represent the biggest threat to this country.
They are unamerican, unpatriotic, parasites, corrupt, and this movement will continue to grow until these parasites of society are removed from power and democracy is restored.
That's "a narrative." Then, whatever the movement comes up with (a long as it's cohesive), it is repeated over and over again, until it becomes genearally-accepted.