Core Stories and Democratic Societies

I use the term core story to represent the story set each of us has inherited and constructed over time about what it means to be human, living and operating in human groups, and the essential agreements we make as humans regarding our behaviors to promote the well-being of individuals and groups simultaneously.  In other words, core stories are stories about our morals that allow us to discern right from wrong, good from bad, in ways that shape the experiences not only of ourselves but also of the groups we inhabit.  As such we find excerpts from core stories in nursery rhymes, school rules, and legal systems for the purpose of promoting behavioral expectations.

Core stories highlight the interactive nature of individuals and groups - individual behavior affects the group, and the group affects individual behavior.  Consequently, core stories represent a systems approach to storytelling.  And because the interactive nature of individuals and groups is dynamic over time, influenced by and influencing factors inside and outside of the group, allowing for the emergence of new group structures and patterns, core stories are dimensions of complex adaptive systems such as political human societies.   

On September 25, 2025, the New York Times published a piece by David Brooks where he described the historic relationship between Christianity and American Democracy.  Brooks argued - using passages from the American founding fathers and political philosophers -   that the strength of public governance in a democracy rests on the strength of people’s agreements about moral behavior, which has been shaped by religion in many cases.  

Indeed, many Americans, whether they currently practice a religion or not, have inherited assumptions about behavior based on a core story emanating from the nation’s Christian origins but also shared among Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Dharmic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Janism, Sikhism), indigenous spiritual traditions, and secular humanistic frameworks for living.  That core story emphasizes a set of principles related to the dignity of life, treating others as we wish to be treated, and cultivating practices to improve our virtue and restrain our flaws. 

Some of us have knowingly constructed and refined detailed personal core stories based on the three principles identified above.  Others of us live in varied states of awareness and development regarding a core story that outlines our position on the dignity of life, the treatment of others, and practices to improve virtue and restrain flaws.  Many of us fall short in applying our core stories day-to-day, and we might all benefit from reflection and refinement of our core stories and their application.  

Moreover, considering that core stories play a role in the functioning of complex adaptive political societies, it is possible that the visible and audible practice of articulating and exploring core stories in groups will promote better processes and outcomes in democracies.  Would you consider developing a working draft of you core story today by responding to these prompts?

1. What does it mean to you that there is inherent dignity in human life?  Would you extend that dignity to other forms of life – plants, animals, nature more broadly?

2. What does it mean to you to treat others as you wish to be treated?  

3. How do your beliefs shape what you think, what you say, and what you do?  

4. What practices do you undertake to promote follow-through on your beliefs and limit any behaviors that contradict your beliefs?

Who could you engage in a conversation about core stories?  What might happen if you convened a group to discuss core stories using questions such as: How do core stories shape our world currently? Which elected and appointed leaders represent our personal core stories?  How do we interpret the news through our core stories? 



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