Stand on Ceremony

Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth” is a stunning treatise on the invaluable role these cultural ‘bed-time’ stories play. The author asserts that such fables are the glue that melds our societal consciousness into a cohesive framework.

More that religion in itself (though he explores so-called ‘spiritual myth’) Campbell claims such stories are the moral framework of generations. He seems to call on a largely unchurched yet spiritually crazed population’s sometimes dense morality as proof.

That led me to wonder – what about the overall role that rituals play in our cultural awareness? To some extent, ritual and myth exist in a similar vein – largely to define the consciousness of the seer.

Think about it. The talking heads espouse liberality (I’m not talking politics here…) and enlightenment as the newest designer drugs. Meanwhile, people like Marshall McLuhan and movies like The Matrix crop up with full fledged communities and seek to redefine our world as the domain of the machines. But what defines you?