Creation stories

Creation stories are interesting. They are ways peoples try to explain how they got here.

Creation stories tell us a great deal about a people. If a creation story is riddled with violence, then it probably has an impact on how violent a society might be, or at least how much violence is seen as acceptable.

Creation stories go beyond just the literal creation of the universe. Origin stories are a form of creation story. Often these stories are related to the origins of nations and organizations. Like creation stories, they tell us a great deal about a nation or organization and how it relates to the world.

One way to think about this is that a creation/origin story sets the stage for how a person or people will live going forward.

The American origin story is full of a variety of things. There is resistance to authority. There are ideals that are fought for, but what is actually implemented are different. Individualism is given great value. No wonder we have large groups of people who resist taking a vaccine when the government tells us to do so – regardless of the reason. No wonder our words and our actions don’t always match up. No wonder people have a hard time taking others into consideration in their decision making process.

Our origin story plays a part in our formation as a people and what we value. They play a role in how we act. Often we don’t even realize it.

In a sense, this is like a trauma that has not been dealt with. People will continue to do things in their life that don’t make sense to outsiders because they have never dealt with a trauma in their past. When we don’t deal with a trauma, we are stuck continuing to be affected by it. It’s a type of origin story.