There is a woman who knows all the stories. And the ones that she doesn't, she imagines, creating a story about them. She does not live in Never-never Land, but rather in the Land Where Everything Is Possible, where there is always magic. Her name is Legend, and in one way or another we have all been exposed to her, captivated by her art of weaving the threads of mythology with reality in an exercise of perpetual hope. Because, as we all know, no legend is totally false, but rather is based on a truth that has been expanded and embellished to make it more accessible to our mundane experience. Prometheus was not the one who stole the fire to give it to humans, but his story is much more captivating than that of a caveman rubbing two stones over dry straw to start a bonfire.
This is how history is often recorded, presented to us as a succession of magical events or sudden illuminations that led to transcendental outcomes. This is even more true in today's world, where everything is labeled. Lech Walesa once told me that "people think that I shouted 'Down with Communism!' and suddenly ten million Poles followed me like mice behind the Pied Piper of Hamelin. "I had to work very hard; myself and many others. " Thirty years after the triumph of Solidarity in Poland, we continue to fabulate with political and social messages.
However, if used in the appropriate way, this mixing of fantasy with reality is, to an extent, necessary, when it comes to transmitting messages that seek to impact the thinking of thousands or millions of people. Storytelling is a very important tool in building a movement for change, as an activist's main weapon is their power of persuasion, their ability to use it effectively being essential to convey their vision of the movement and to motivate others to join it. Stories inform, illuminate, inspire, spur us to act and connect with others. In the realm of social movements for change, it is a powerful vehicle for achieving specific goals. In Latin America there is a great tradition of oral culture that facilitates the use of this tool in relation to socio-political phenomena.
The power of storytelling is directly associated with the ability to articulate a vision of tomorrow, which is the cornerstone of any nonviolent movement for change. This ability has taken on extraordinary relevance in today's world, with the exponential development of communication technologies. This is evident in both political and commercial campaigns and activism. We live in the age of instant, massive and impactful communication, such that knowing how to tell a story is as important as knowing which to tell, to the point that this can have a decisive impact on the success or failure of a cause.
We must, however, avoid simplism and the traps of faith. As a general rule, one has the impression that, in a repressive environment, any information is valuable, which is not entirely true. Too much theorizing, or focusing on past-oriented events, can weary one's audience. In Chile, during the NO campaign against Augusto Pinochet, the messages were focused on showing a future of peace and happiness should the referendum against the dictatorship prevail. In Serbia, Otpor's narrative was focused on proclaiming victory before it happened, with slogans like "It's Over!" and "It's Time!" All information is not power, so exercising discernment is vital. Within everything that is valid, it necessary to identify what is relevant, what is interesting, and what is motivating. In most cases, painting a picture of what is possible is more stirring, more inspirational, than setting forth what already exists, although neither should be neglected.
Example is a great motivational tool, even under the most extreme circumstances. According to estimates by the Prague TV station, 137 civilians were killed in the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, but the ultimate symbol of those events, without a doubt, was Jan Palach, the university student who immolated himself on January 16, 1969. A month later, on February 25, another student, Jan Zajíc, committed suicide in the same way in the same place, followed in April by another student, Evzen Plocek, in the city of JIhlava. Despite the arrogant statements of the Soviet military, who predicted that it would take four days to dominate the country, the civilian-based resistance lasted eight months, despite having no military support, against a force of 650,000 men equipped with the Soviet military's most modern and sophisticated weapons, according to reports accessed by The New York Times. Twenty years after the Prague Spring, demonstrations began with the "Palach Week," between January 15 and 21, 1989. The Communist regime fell eleven months later. History has curious ways of putting things in their place.
Of course, immolation may not be the most appropriate example, but the legends associated with these events, and their transmission through the years, via oral, written, and more recently, virtual traditions, were a powerful force spurring people to act under other circumstances, in pursuit of the same objectives. Any story that inspires leads to action, no matter how minimal it may seem. In 2013 the Czech Emil Zatopek was chosen by the specialized magazine Runner's World as the best runner in the world. He won gold medals at three Olympics, and is the only runner to have won the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon at the same Olympics, with an Olympic record in all three. For his athletic achievements he was promoted to a higher rank, but then, after his support of the Prague Spring, he was expelled from the army and, as a form of humiliation, employed as a street sweeper. In 1998 the then-president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel awarded him the nation's highest athletic honor. Emil died two years later.
Legend has it that when Zatopek made his rounds residents would go out to sweep the street in front of their homes to spare him the humiliation and lighten his workload. In this way, almost without knowing it, "the human locomotive," as he was called in his glory days, prompted a number of fellow citizens to engage every day in a joint action of resistance to the system. Thus, his success story was multiplied in space and time. The same thing happens when dozens, hundreds or thousands of Cubans sing "Patria y Vida" (Homeland and Life) on a Havana street, or a professor goes out religiously on every 18th of the month to protest, walking down the street, and she is imitated in other parks in other cities. Legends are forged daily when everyday events are linked together, their reach expanded through their projection in a myriad of ways.
You would have to ask that lady who knows everything, or imagines everything she doesn't yet. Who knows? Maybe Prometheus actually existed; what we do know is that the caveman has no name, which is why the story of the former is always more attractive than that of the latter. Magic consists of forging legends that stir hope.