Trump vs Thousands of Years of Moral Storytelling

Why this election is about so much more than just America. It’s about stopping the villain from every story winning.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

I don’t want to make everything about the election this coming November and I know many people have already detailed it’s importance, but I thought I’d offer why from a storytelling perspective. You see, when you engage in any well-told fiction story, be it books, films, television or even anecdotally, you’re usually engaging in thousands of years of our ancestors boiling down moral lessons into symbolic, easy to digest tales.

This is exactly what renowned writer, Joseph Campbell, researched and detailed in his book ‘A hero with a thousand faces’. From stories told around campfires to help protect the tribe, to myths of the Greek gods, to Disney’s lessons for kids, Cambell’s definitive research confirmed that from stories we learn our moral rules for life.

I find it supremely interesting, therefore, that the country responsible for the most modern spinner of mainstream morals is also the same one suffering a crisis. For despite all Hollywood’s efforts (be them minor or major) to encourage a progressive, politically-correct message of equality a vast majority of its target audience still support a human willing to…