Culture is what happens when the people who are acting out stories create stories together.
For example, the modern corporation.
It has rights. Can own property. Pays taxes… supposedly. And is prosecuted individually. That is to say it faces the judge separately from the individuals who operate it.
Legally speaking, it is as solid and real as any one of us us.
But… is it really?
Let’s check.
Pick a modern corporation… any corporation.
Tesla?
Ok Tesla it is. Tesla is made up of Elon Musk… everyone else, some stakeholders, and some buildings and machinery.
Imagine an alien spacecraft suddenly appeared… say a Thetan ship captained by Tom Cruise. Let’s say Captain Toms ex-wife went out with Elon once or twice – a clear violation of the bro code – so Cap’n Tom’s here to settle the score.
He takes Elon… everyone else, the stakeholders… even the buildings and equipment away.
Does Tesla still exist?
Yes it does.
It can reman, rebuild, and retool… possibly even re-Elon.
Now let’s say Elon runs afoul of the law and a judge decides to terminate Tesla’s legal recognition.
Does Tesla still exist?
No.
Despite the fact that Elon… everyone else, the stakeholders, and buildings and equipment are all still present and accounted for… Tesla would be permanently stricken from the map.
The modern corporation is not as real as any one of us. In fact, it has no footing in actual reality. It is entirely a figment of our collective imagination.
Just for fun… let’s continue with that alien spacecraft thought experiment. This time Thetan Captain Tom… being the generous guy he is, wants to take all of us along… to help us… you know, overcome the negative thoughts that are holding us back.
So he takes every man, woman, and child on earth to L. Ron Hubbardonia… or wherever it is the Thetans call home these days, for thorough reprogramming.
What would happen?
Well, for starters… we’d all get to know the E-Meter.
On earth the animals would be super happy…except for dogs. Dogs would for sure be bummed.
Trees and mountains and rivers and grass and seasons and gravity and radiation and storms and earthquakes and life and death would all still exist.
But every story we currently pilot our lives by… Santa, human rights, countries, laws, “special” purposes, clock time, the past, the future, right and wrong, money, property rights, national interests, would all instantly disappear.
Well… not exactly disappear, they’d all go with us. Like our childhood imaginary friends. My brothers was named Chase… by the way.
It’s an interesting thought isn’t it? No… not that my little brothers imaginary friend was “Chase”… that all these stories we that we subvert our lives to aren’t real.
They exist only in our collective imaginations.
Amazing… don’t you think?
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying the stories have no value. I’m simply saying that their value is only what we give to them.
And when you look at the world through this filter it’s easy to see all of history as a competition between stories. Gods. Kings. Money. Systems of government. Relationships. All of it.
In the next chapter we’ll look into the SAD story… the standard American drama.
Back: Chapter 5 – I am