Storytelling Reflection

I am reminded of the feeling you get when you grow old enough to realize that your parents told you a lot of little white lies as a child. One that stands out to me is when I was really little, in the first house I lived in, I struggled often with growing pains. Every night, I would lay awake in bed, my legs in so much pain that I couldn't sleep. So every night, I would wander into my parents bedroom where they were asleep and I would say, "Daaaad, my legs hurt."

To avoid having to get up and put me to bed again, my dad would sigh and say, "put some lotion on them."

So, I would meander over to the hall closet, where there was a blue bottle of presumably magic lotion placed at a height I could reach. I would put the lotion on my legs and go back to bed, the pain gone. Then I would be able to sleep the rest of the night.

When you first make the discovery that you have been lied to, you are shocked an dismayed that your parents would be anything but truthful to you. When you get older, you realize that they said those things for the better of everyone. That's probably what the US Government thought they were doing when they lied about Vietnam. At least in some sense they thought it would be better for the people if they didn't know that their mission there was completely futile. On the other hand, they were also trying to cover their own behinds.

Watching "The Pentagon Papers" made me realize how important storytelling is, and how life-altering journalism can be. When Daniel Ellsberg went to Vietnam and realized how the American people were being lied to, he had a choice to make. When dealing with something tat top-secret, something that only the presidents and a handful of other people knew in the whole country, he had to be careful.

Before the papers ever even made it to the New York Times, people were trying to top him. His life changed in the blink of an eye as soon as people got word of his possession of the papers. Ellsberg had to constantly be on the run, for fear of FBI officials tracking him down. I have no doubt that had they found him before the papers made it to the press, he would have been killed.

That's the kind of danger that people can face when it comes to telling the truth and bringing justice. Along with this, his integrity was questioned multiple times. People were willing to do anything to discredit him and keep the powerful secret. He did what was right though, and American history was forever changed.

Ellsberg's storytelling led to the discovery of one of the biggest scandals in history with the Watergate Scandal. This led to the impeachment of a president and shows the power of journalism and the importance of telling the truth, even if you're scared about what could happen because of it.

Storytelling in a broader sense can be life-altering as well. There are several novels I read growing up that I think I'll remember forever. They are a powerful way to teach and to awaken deep contemplation and imagination from readers. Without them I don't think I would be as curious as I am to pursue new stories like I have with my journalism major.