Mythology Essay, Research Paper

History reminds us we do not exist in a vacuum but are beings part of a larger whole dependent on shared wisdoms and beliefs. Countless aeons of story telling traditions and evolving mythologies speak to the very heart of our humanity. These shared stories, rituals and wisdoms have fallen by the wayside leaving our children with a sense of profound isolation and detachment. By ignoring the richness of symbolic language and lore, we offer our children a barren wasteland of artifice and transparent tales, spoon-fed ideas and empty thoughts. Gone is the world of exploration, replaced instead by the quick fixes of sit coms, movies, video games and on-line chat rooms. Poetic language and the art of communication is lost to vulgarity and coarseness. Heroic stories of wonder and enchantment gather dust while spandex clad wrestlers in the ring of artifice and glitz become the Titans of our children’s fantasy lives. Although we can make room for the pleasures of simple entertainment, we cannot use it as the sustenance for our children’s imaginations. Why do some of us expect so little of our children and offer them so little in return? Why have we forgotten to give them credit for being complex and capable human beings?