Quote of the Day: Which Story Will Last?

 

“I am specifically concerned with fiction because that is what I write. There is a certain embarrassment about being a storyteller in these times when stories are considered not quite as satisfying as statements and statements not quite as satisfying as statistics; but in the long run, a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells.”* — Flannery O’Connor, 1957

As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, I’m quoting Flannery O’Connor this month because an effort has begun to “cancel” her, which is not surprising as she was a Catholic in good standing who supported what is good in Western Culture and the Christian faith. (Along with being one of the great writers of the 20th century.)

I found the above quote interesting because I don’t believe it is any longer true, the first part of it anyway. In the mid-20th century, the leaders of opinion wanted to believe they were driven by just “the facts” and reason. Stories didn’t matter.

As much as the left talks about “science” these days, it has become very clear that they, perhaps all of us, are led by narratives, by stories. But while the left believes in the daydreams they made up in their heads the day before yesterday, born of jealousy, sloth, and spite, the right is trying to hold on to the stories of old; of Moses and St. Paul and Shakespeare and Adam Smith and Washington and Lincoln and Martin Luther King. We will see soon whose Story of America is remembered.

* From “In the Protestant South,” an essay in Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose, a collection of various writings of Flannery O’Connor.

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  1. Nohaaj Coolidge
    Nohaaj
    @Nohaaj

    Eustace C. Scrubb: a people is known, not by its statements or its statistics, but by the stories it tells.

    I think she was very insightful with this observation. Today the stories being told are predominately false narratives of systemic racism, peaceful riots, evil capitalism, worker exploitation, man-made climate change, gender bending, Russian collusion, Vet hating.  We as a society need to recognize and vigorously refute the false narratives. Even more importantly, we need to express the stories of inherent goodness, optimism and greatness of Western culture. 

    • #1
  2. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    As a story teller, I would very much like to think it is the stories that will last.


    This is the Quote of the Day. If you have a quotation you would like to share, our sign-up sheet awaits. We still have five open dates this month.

    There is also the Group Writing Project. This month, the theme is a very speculative one: If I was a —, I would —. It looks as if Clifford has nine open dates in the future.

    If you haven’t written much on Ricochet, these projects are easy ways to get involved.

    • #2
  3. Michael Brehm Lincoln
    Michael Brehm
    @MichaelBrehm

    @nohaaj The Right needs to recover storytelling. The problem we’re in today is that over the years, we’ve somehow allowed storytelling to be taken over almost exclusively by the Left.

    @arahant I’ve never met a single person who has a beloved dataset, but I’ve met plenty of people who have a favorite story. Though, perhaps, this is because I don’t get out much…

     

     

    • #3
  4. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Michael Brehm (View Comment):
    Arahant I’ve never met a single person who has a beloved dataset, but I’ve met plenty of people who have a favorite story. Though, perhaps, this is because I don’t get out much…

    But, but…My Precioussss spreadsheets!

      Raw Look up                        
        West Male Forbes Male Welf Male Biblical Male West Female Forbes Female Welf Female Biblical Female Other Male Other Female      
    Person                            
    Name1 180 Reuben Waldron Wilhelm   Decima Hesperia Franziska   Aimon Averie      
    Name2 66 Emmett Fergus Frederick   Erin Fiona Athena Nogah Solvathius Diana      
    Name3 718 Curtis Blane William   Despina Lea Nina   Maximo Elvira      
    Name4 902 Tiw Nevis Laurenz   Ananke Eufamia Rodelinda   Tyrone Gutlin      
    Name5 532 Ocella Henry Agamemnon   Cassandra Freyja Charlotte   Gavin Maya      
    Name6 611 Bes Solvathius George   Iris Edana Gisela   Jessie Robyn      
    Name7 274 Acilius Duff Arno   Pompeia Gillian Leah   Alan Diana      
    Name8 731 Escalus Farquar Alphonse   Enyo Frige    Roswitha   Mitchell Anderazo      
    Number of Names 4                          
    Birth Date 334 29 NOV       Parr Parr            
    Years (West) 51 51   12729   102 25458            
    Years (Normal) 32 32     379 Marine                
    Death Date 282 8 OCT   734 Navy                
              610 Army                
    Immortal 3 If 4     177 Manufacturer                
    Periodicity 2113       782 Mine Owner         2000 100 10 3
    Periods Survived 6       870 ISASTA                
                Lawyer/Judge                
    Multiple birth? 1         Factor/Financial Manager                
                Priest/Theologian/Bishop         Hudson      
    Height Male 82         Historian         61      
    Height Female 71         Mathematician         50      
                Physicist                
    Elevation? 10+         Broker                
    Normal 10         Heraldic Officer/Genealogist                
    Angel 13         Law Enforcement/Thief Taker/Investigator/Crown Prosecutor                
                Animal Trainer (Groom for horses, dragons, etc.)                
    Monkey Muscle 522         Plantation Owner/Farmer/Farm Hand                
    Natural 165         Military Agent                
    Sex 0                          
                                 
    • #4
  5. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    I agree with Flannery. Yes, the Left uses narrative to sway people, but they do it under the pretext of “science” (sneer quotes intentional). Despite the multitude of lies (false narratives), they’ve captured the “science” to use toward their ends — ultimate power. 

    From my own QOTD:

    “Is the object of the government to permit people to live private lives and make their own happiness?. . . Is it better to manage the society according to scientific principles?” — Larry Arnn

    This is the central debate of this election and all elections in America, really. The Left votes for scientism — expert rule as religious belief. The Right votes for liberty. 

    • #5
  6. Michael Brehm Lincoln
    Michael Brehm
    @MichaelBrehm

    @Arahant That looks more like the seed of a story to me, or possibly a random encounter table (same difference).

    • #6
  7. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Michael Brehm (View Comment):

    Arahant That looks more like the seed of a story to me, or possibly a random encounter table (same difference).

    It is. It’s one page of the workbook from which I generate characters for one of my science fiction series.

    • #7
  8. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Michael Brehm (View Comment):

    Arahant That looks more like the seed of a story to me, or possibly a random encounter table (same difference).

    It is. It’s one page of the workbook from which I generate characters for one of my science fiction series.

    I totally must do that now, you know. 

    • #8
  9. Lois Lane Coolidge
    Lois Lane
    @LoisLane

    I am from Georgia and just cringed when I saw Flannery attacked at a Catholic (!!!!!!!!!!) college.  Of course story lasts longer.  I know the name of Homer.  Who was the local actuary?

    • #9
  10. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Hartmann von Aue (View Comment):
    I totally must do that now, you know. 

    Did you want me to send you the workbook? You can put in your own data. 😁

    • #10
  11. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Reminds me of an old viking story. 

    When I was a boy, my grandmother was a famous seer in our small town. I was in awe of her. 

    She claimed the gods never died, that they still spoke through her. Others would come from far away to hear their fate or feel close to them. 

    Sometimes I would listen through the walls to the amazings things she told these people, even though it was forbidden. 

    She knew. Before she died, she told me a secret. 

    She said she made it all up

    I got upset, I called her a fraud. But she explained that just because she made it up doesn’t mean it wasn’t real. 

    “The stories we tell are just as real as all the things we see and feel.” she said. Then she died. 

    I remembered those words clear as a bell and I made up stories of my own. 

    Eventually it became hard not to see the world as a story. — Aleo the Skald

    • #11
  12. davenr321 Coolidge
    davenr321
    @davenr321

    If they end up cancelling her, make sure you download this…

    https://youtu.be/sQT7y4L5aKU

    It’s her reading “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.”

    • #12
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