by Joshua Gryniewicz

Stronger Stories, 
Stronger Communities

copyright (c) 2003 by Josh Gryniewicz

Last month, Mythic Heritage began a three-part series on the connection between community and stories. Our June installment -- A Television Experience -- gave an ironic exploration of community that centered on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. This month we explore myth in America: is ours a country without myth? In September, our series will conclude with suggestions for developing a sense of community through a storytelling tradition.

Community fulfills a vital role in the human experience, integrating political issues, social concerns, civic responsibilities, as well as a combined interest in the group's own well-being. Simultaneously, this group nurtures and supports the personal growth and accomplishments of its members and provides moral, emotional and physical support in times of crisis.

In present day American society, community has become a somewhat obscure concept. Our drive for efficiency, preoccupation with consumerism and cultural celebration of the individual has left many of us socially isolated. Without a mythology to unite us our culture has become bankrupt and our society is flooded with a sense of loneliness and despair. As Rollo May argues in his book Cry for Myth, a longing for mythology is actually a hunger for community.

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