Storytelling is a powerful tool for the dissemination of information. When done well, it can convey valuable insights, inspire action, and unearth emotions that can be catalysts for good. In the hands of charlatans, however, storytelling can often be used to do the exact opposite; to sow hatred, to feed suspicion, and to destroy the trust necessary for a cohesive and united society.
Our country today is a tale of dueling stories and narratives being spun by powerful forces and interest groups with agendas that may not necessarily be in the best interest of we the people. Unfortunately, like the song of the pied piper, these hypnotizing and numbing narratives have succeeded in capturing the minds of our fellow citizens, driving many of them obliviously towards mediocrity, self-destruction, and doom.
As an immigrant with an outsider’s perspective on many of these narratives, I have often wondered what if anything can be done, especially when it seems the most destructive narratives are winning in the court of public opinion.
One such narrative states, “America was founded on racism, slavery, and white supremacy in 1619, not on liberty and self-determination in 1776.” This narrative was sanctioned by The New York Times and rewarded with a Pulitzer, even though by all available evidence is fundamentally flawed and woefully misleading. “White people are inherently racist,” is another increasingly pervasive narrative expertly spun in the war rooms of leftist think-tanks and laundered to the masses through a media and corporate apparatus wholly beholden to leftist orthodoxy.
Even more damaging are the narratives that appear purposefully engineered to target our children. Narratives about gender and sexuality that run counter to millennia-old norms and biological reality are now being promulgated within the halls of academia and at institutions supposedly dedicated to the conduct of rigorous scientific research. What’s worse is the fact that those courageous enough to challenge these narratives are seen and treated as though they were dissidents of a fascistic regime that demands a total subjugation of one’s intellect to the propagation of sanctioned talking points from which no deviation is permitted.
Institutions dedicated to storytelling have also acquiesced to the demands of what one can only describe as a cabal, established to stand against our traditions and norms; a cabal sworn to defy the “gods of the copybook headings.” Hollywood is a founding member of that cabal, but recently companies like Disney and Hallmark, once bastions of wholesome and family-friendly storytelling, seem to have converted to the religion of Wokism and are out to prove their bona fides by fully embracing its destructive doctrines and sacraments.
Even our military, an institution one would have thought would be immune to the effects of changing narratives, has itself fallen victim. From subjecting soldiers to lectures and seminars about “white rage” to embracing the tenets of radical gender ideology, the leaders of our military seem focused on appeasing the gods of Wokism to the potential detriment of operational readiness.
If you are like me, the deluge of these relatively new and non-conforming narratives, may have you feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. There seems to be a palpable sense of inevitability around these monumental societal shifts that whispers to our hearts and minds that the fight is already lost. Furthermore, standing against these narratives in the public square may have actual negative social and economic consequences.
So, what are we to do about any of this? How do we, as conservatives, begin to conserve immutable truths about human nature, biology, or science in general? How do we conserve the truths about America’s founding and its place in the world? How do we break out of the labels placed on us to shackle and silence us? How do we fight back without becoming purveyors of similarly damaging narratives about those who disagree with us?
I wish there were a silver bullet or panacea for wokeness. I wish I could wave a wand to summon sanity back to the public square. Unfortunately, ours is not to seek an easy way out of our current predicament. I believe finding a durable and lasting solution will require a united legion of patriots willing to work in the trenches over many years to turn a tide that has been turning against us for more than a century.
The fight we are in is existential because our way of life is under threat of a radical disruption. The stories we tell to counter the threat will either lead to a groundswell of enlightenment among our peers and fellow citizens, or further relegate us to being spectators in a world determined to sweep us into the dustbin of history.
So, where do we start? I believe it all begins with storytelling. The change we seek begins when we first take control of our own narrative. We must reject the practice of allowing charlatans to define who we are. We must construct a coherent rallying cry around which like-minded patriots can unite. It will require diligence and discipline; it will demand eloquence and succinctness. It will also require a selfless disregard for personal fame or glory.
As an immigrant to the United States, I was bombarded with a narrative about conservatism long before arriving in America. So are the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants breaching our borders wearing Joe Biden t-shirts. Hence, we must, in clear and unequivocal terms, speak to the true goal of conservatism, which I believe to be an ideology wholly dedicated to the empowerment of individuals to transcend the circumstances of their birth and to reach their full potential.
So, defining the true and unadulterated tenets of conservatism should be the starting point of the reclamation of our narrative. What do we really stand for? Who are we fighting for? What are our solutions to the real problems facing individuals and our country as a whole? How can we convey our ideals without sounding callous and uncaring?
We can no longer get away with the platitudes of lower taxes and less government, without a corresponding and compelling narrative that fleshes out to the average citizen why those principles are worth fighting for. We must break out of our echo chambers and turn away from ‘owning the libs’ to seeing and embracing them as potential converts to our way of thinking. We must separate the charlatans in the corporate media and political class from people who, in my opinion, have fallen victim to their well-orchestrated narratives about who we are.
I am not naïve to the difficulty of the task at hand. I am under no illusions that this journey of restoration will be easy. It will take years if not decades to make a difference. We may lose more elections in the process. We may face an even greater opposition than we currently face, but I believe this journey is not for the glory and honor of this world. Hence, our motivation should not be fueled by the prospects of election results or worldly accolades.
It should be fueled by something much greater. A genuine desire to lift our fellow citizens to a true appreciation the privilege they have as Americans, and to empower them to take advantage of the countless opportunities and blessings that our country offers to all who are willing to hold on to the promise of our founding, the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Alma Ohene-Opare is the host of “Restitch America,” a podcast dedicated to the restoration of civility and patriotism in America. He is an immigrant to the United States who earned American citizenship in 2021. You can follow him on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook under the handle, @willfulpositivity.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.