The left understands something the right has neglected: the power of story. Every single progressive cause is wrapped in narrative first, fact-checks second. They don’t persuade with logic; they move with symbols. Che’s face on a poster, or a dying child “proving” Israel is starving Palestinians. A rebel against “the system.” “Martyrs” like George Floyd standing up to "oppression" and dying for it.
People respond faster to stories than to statistics — and the Left has been using that truth for decades.
But here’s the irony: the most powerful storytelling is not theirs. It’s ours.
The Hero’s Journey — the oldest narrative arc — is rooted in the traditions conservatives have always carried. For thousands of years, families and cultures passed their values down through story. Folk tales, myths, parables, family lore: these were the operating systems of civilization. Jesus Himself taught in parables because He knew truth sticks when wrapped in story. It shortcuts the brain’s usual skeptical blockades and worms its way deep into your mind and emotions. A child may forget a sermon, but he will never forget the Prodigal Son, or the drama of Moses and the plagues, or the death and rising of Jesus.
The conservative arc has always been about restoration, the central pole of the heroic journey. A hero is called to duty higher than himself, tested in trials, and then returns to rebuild. Washington laid down power to return to his beloved farm. Eisenhower went back to his farm in Gettysburg. Sam Gamgee went home, married, and became a prosperous and respected farmer with a large family. The traditional hero sacrifices not to destroy, but to preserve and renew and grow. The story ends in balance: crops planted, families gathered, life made whole again.
The left’s arc is different. Their “heroes” thrive on opposition. They are parasites feeding on the order others built. Che Guevara without Batista is nothing. Greta without fossil fuels (or Palestine, as of late) is irrelevant. They can only survive by opposing, mocking, or destroying. That’s why their stories end not in resolution but in perpetual conflict or worse. A new "villain" to struggle against must always be found, even if yesterday’s ally becomes today’s oppressor.
But here's the thing: they own the media, the airwaves, more than half of the internet, Hollywood, the music industry. Most of the stories that are told they dominate with their destructive mavericks and rebels without a clue. Traditional heroic stories — at least those that are not gritty or used to show the hero's flaws — are rare and precious.
The Right's Dilemma
Somewhere along the way, the Right forgot how central storytelling is to our mission. We started treating fiction as frivolous, culture as secondary, and story as optional. We built policies and platforms, but neglected to tell the stories that make people care about them. And in that vacuum, the left rushed in with the quick seduction of trickster tales and anti-stories — chaos without resolution, rebellion without end.
The truth is, the power of the Hero’s Journey is ours. The myths of order, sacrifice, and renewal belong to us. And if we want to preserve what we value, we cannot leave story to the destroyers.
So what do we do? We tell stories again. We write novels, produce films, share family histories, and teach children not just what is true, but what truth looks like in action. We support storytellers who carry our values. We pass on the myths that bind generations — not as museum pieces, but as living fire. And we buy those stories, supporting the storytellers so that they can keep the fire burning.
How We Begin
Reclaiming story doesn’t require Hollywood budgets or bestseller lists. It begins in ordinary life, with ordinary people who choose to pass on truth through narrative. Here are some practical ways to start:
- Read aloud to your children and grandchildren. Classics, fairy tales, Bible stories, and family tales sink deeper than lectures.
- Tell family stories. Preserve memories of grandparents, migrations, struggles, and triumphs — in speech and in writing.
- Support storytellers. Buy books, watch films, and attend plays that reflect truth, courage, and renewal.
- Rebuild tradition through holidays. Anchor Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving in story, not just consumer ritual.
- Share stories in community. Book clubs, church groups, and family gatherings thrive when people discuss stories, not just politics.
- Encourage young creators. Support children who write, draw, or film — and give them classics to imitate.
- Use story in daily life. Illustrate your points with anecdotes instead of just arguments. Stories make truth stick.
- Live a story worth telling. Heroes endure because they embody courage and sacrifice. Your life choices create tomorrow’s quiet heroes.
Stories are not decoration. They are not frivolous or a waste of time. They are how a culture survives. If we forget to tell our stories, we will watch our children learn the Left’s anti-stories instead. But if we reclaim them, we arm the next generation with something stronger than chaos: the knowledge that sacrifice restores, that order matters, that truth endures.
The Left already knows the power of story. It’s time we on the Right remembered.
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