A Loving Father?

[Nathan_Jr]

9 minutes ago, Bolshevik said:

But a bottom up view . . . I think narratives have a little more utility than as a toy.

This, it seems to me, can be a healthy way to view narrative. It requires awareness and attention not to get caught in the net of narrative. Yet narrative is everywhere. For example, I've read The NY Times AND The Wall Street Journal every day for over twenty years. It's fascinating to see the same story framed through diametrically opposed narratives. I listen to both spiritually-minded and atheistic podcasts. Toys, indeed. And both narratives are designed to persuade one to BELIEVE they alone have the truth. 

[Bolshevik]

37 minutes ago, Nathan_Jr said:

This, it seems to me, can be a healthy way to view narrative. It requires awareness and attention not to get caught in the net of narrative. Yet narrative is everywhere. For example, I've read The NY Times AND The Wall Street Journal every day for over twenty years. It's fascinating to see the same story framed through diametrically opposed narratives. I listen to both spiritually-minded and atheistic podcasts. Toys, indeed. And both narratives are designed to persuade one to BELIEVE they alone have the truth. 

I feeling a bit of pessimism 

But think what you're hinting at is the importance of free speech

Often opposing views create a new view.  That's why we dialogue.  Not necessarily that each side changes their mind, but the effect of the dialogue creates a direction

A larger narrative of a many many people over a long long time . . . Creates a symbolic narrative via what I think Jonathan Pagaeu calls compression.  What matters most gets distilled into a narrative . . .

 

[Rocky]

4 hours ago, Bolshevik said:

Often opposing views create a new view.  That's why we dialogue.  Not necessarily that each side changes their mind, but the effect of the dialogue creates a direction

Indeed. And creates a larger perspective than each individual was able to have on their own.