Fact
and Fiction
“Opportunities
to find deeper power within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.”
Joseph
Campbell
I miss
Joseph Campbell, don’t you? His was a bright light in the pantheon of elders in
this country. He viewed the world through the lens of metaphor and symbol, which
gave him a rich understanding of human nature. He believed that “the
privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” And, discovering who you are
takes a lifetime.
He knew
that human nature abhors a vacuum and will fill it, first and foremost, with
imaginings that we find thrilling, and only later go to the effort of discovering
the facts. My son, Ian, reminded me yesterday about the principle called “Ockham’s
Razor,” which states “entities shall not be multiplied without necessity.”
In modern language that translates to one ought not to make unnecessary assumptions,
and that the answer to most problems is often the simplest. (Urban Dictionary)
We like conspiracy theories because they are imaginative stories that hark back
to our oral history days when stories were told, and retold, and added to, and
embellished with each telling. They are more interesting to our creative minds
than the mere facts. By the time we get around to the facts, we like our stories
better, so we reject the truth.
Joseph
Campbell also said that “regrets are illuminations that come too late.”
I fear that is what happened with our response to the coronavirus. First, we
told ourselves “Paul Bunyan” type stories; we saw ourselves as John Wayne
squaring off with a stagecoach-robbing gun-slinger, or one of those men in
black with their laser guns. We defied the facts and got deeply into the
mythology of “we’re the best,” and “I ain’t wearing no stinkin’ mask!”
We had Dr. Anthony Fauci, our modern version of Joe Friday, giving us “just
the facts, ma’am,” but we didn’t like his story, so we packed bars and
beaches and danced our hearts out at “pandemic parties.” And now, here we are,
back to square one. Regretfully, our illumination is coming too late.
According
to Dr. Campbell we now have our greatest opportunity to discover a deeper power
within ourselves, because this is as challenging as it gets. Let’s rise to the
occasion, take off our spurs, and listen to the good doctor’s recommendations.
His story is the true one—and the simplest. Wash your hands, wear a mask, stay
out of crowds, pray.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment