Vital narratives - Narrative Intelligence - page 110

view say that we tried exporting the democratic republic to Russia and it failed.
The typical explanation is that the Russian people have no experience with
democracy and are inclined culturally to prefer other forms of government.
Yet if we believe that the form of the democratic republic is the best way
to guarantee freedom and participation for citizens, then we are obligated to
try to export it, as we did to Japan and Germany. The difference between the
Russian experience and the narrative of democracy is follow-through .Teaching,
learning, and aid make the difference between a half-hearted declaration that
ours is the best way and a full conversion of less satisfactory forms of govern-
ment to the ideal of a democratic republic. And when we have accomplished
that, we may find that we are all global citizens, and that the freedoms inher-
ent in the definition of democracy are adequate to accommodate - and even to
celebrate - cultural differences.
At the end of the day, I believe that the best geopolitical narrative is one that
honors individuals, cultures, the idea of the democratic republic, and - most
of all - sustaining and protecting the Earth. Our government backed out of
the Kyoto protocols. They backed out of support for various UN health initia-
tives. They opted for policies that support the old game of nationalism, growth,
and exploitation. They are sneaking around the Constitution to surreptitiously
weaken the separation of church and state. They routinely privilege business
over the health of the planet and the rights of other human beings to deter-
mine their own livelihoods. To construct a new story, I think we need to give
our narrative intelligence the strongest possible workout. We need to absorb
many other kinds of narratives and understand the kinds of truths they have
for us. May our next geopolitical narrative be devoted to establishing freedom,
harmony, balance, and sustainability. If we can construct the story, we can find
awaytomakeitso.
References
Adler, Margot (1979). Drawing down the moon . New York: Penguin/Arkana.
Campbell, Joseph (1986). The inner reaches of outer space. New York: Harper and Row.
Fauvel, John, Raymond Flood, Michael Shortland, & Robin Wilson, (Eds.) (1988). Let
Newton be! A new perspective on his life and works . New York: Oxford University Press.
Gould, Stephen Jay (2002). The structure of evolutionary theory .Cambridge,MA:The
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Gould, Stephen Jay (1989). Wonderful life: The Burgess Shale and the nature of history. New
York:W.W.Norton.