THE STORIES WE TELL

                THE STORIES WE TELL
             CHIBU NDUBUISI 03/04/2017

Peace be to you.

Stories instructs and stories destroys. Stories integrates and disintegrates. Stories protects freedom and stories creates tyranny. Stories builds envy and stories cements love. Stories liberates and stories enslaves. Stories honours people stories dishonours people. Stories dignifies and stories denigrates. Stories makes enemies and stories creates friendships.  Stories sustains generations and stories destroys civilizations. Our daily actions or inactions creates a narrative for instructions.

What are the stories that have molded our personal and world views? What are the stories that motivates us to action or inaction? What are the stories that lead us to show empathy? What stories lead us to rage? What are the stories that make us contribute towards healing a fractured world.

Whose storyline are we listening to? What lesson did Pharaoh teach the people of Israel about slavery? What lessons did African countries learn from the slavery and colonial experience? What lessons did Nelson Mandela teach about reconciliation? What lesson did Hitler teach the Jews about the Holocaust experience? What lessons are we teaching when we codone indifference? What lessons are the parents of the abducted chibok girls learning?  What lessons are we learning from the economic hardship in Nigeria?

Some people have seen, heard and witnessed many unpalatable stories and the stories spured them in to action towards healing a fractured world.

What lessons are we learning from the philanthropic endeavours of Bill Gates who is committed to fighting malaria and poverty in the world.  Alfred Noble  foundation which awards the Laureate prize to individuals who have made us understand  the world better. , Sir John Templeton foundations that gives award to people who have contributed towards healing a broken world.  Tony Elumelu who is empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs to help reduce poverty and war in the land. Aliko Dangote who has helped so many Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Chimamanda Adichie in her TED talk on "THE DANGERS OF THE SINGLE STORY" adivises that 'when you show a people as one thing over and over again that is what they become'. The single stories robs people of dignity. Sisonke Msimang in her TED talk also adivises that 'stories can be an antidote to biases and help bridge divides'.

We must move into action when we hear about poverty by fighting it with empowerment and purposeful policies. When we see hunger let rise to the occasion by providing food.  When we hear hate speeches, we must fight it by showing love. When we hear about injustice we must fight it with justice. When we see ignorance,  we must contribute towards healing it. When we encounter xenophobia attacks, we must condemn it and show love. When government of the day detain people unjustly, they must be condemned and made to free those people. When we see tyrany, we must confront it. As pastor Neimoler advised that ' when they came for the communist and the jews he was silent because he was not one of them but when they came for him nobody was there to speak for him'.

The most popular stories may not be the real stories because of the hegemony that may be promoting a single story to make it appealing.  Those who murdered Galileo had the popular story of the flat earth but they were wrong. So  " If a million people hold a dumb idea, it is still a dumb idea" but the real stories that  lives with us  on day to day basis can be discerned.

Let a story move you to a positive action. As Charles de lint advised 'Dont forget no one else sees the world the way you do. So no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell'.
When you start telling that story, let it  lead to a better understanding our common humanity and the ideal to make the world a better place.

'Tomorrow's world is born in what we teach our children today, freedom is won, not on the battle field,  nor in the political arena, but in human imagination and will' wrote Jonathan Sacks.

Peace be with you.

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