Spirit and Story Archive

Katrina: The Power of Storytelling in Renewal

By Irwin Kula 

In late 2005, CLAL President Rabbi Irwin Kula went to South Louisiana to help the Jewish communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina begin to mend. Since then, he has appeared several times on WWL, the leading talk radio station for New Orleans, to discuss how we can start to heal after tragedy and find the strength to move on. Recently, a listener contacted him to expound on the importance of storytelling in renewal and on why it matters which stories we tell. Rabbi Kula’s response, which addresses the power of narrative for both individuals and for the country, is provided below.

Thank you for your kind words… I was actually just speaking from my heart. I was using my own wisdom tradition’s understanding of creating hope and meaning in the face of tragedy. Ultimately “survivors” need to frame a narrative that invites people to go beyond feeling empathy for victims, however much such empathy and compassion is legitimate, warranted, and needed to address the immediate day-to-day needs.

Psychologically, this is important for two reasons. The first is to mitigate compassion fatigue that sets in because a narrative that constantly reiterates a victim/savior plot negates the real heroism and power that the “victims” are demonstrating that are inspiring and critical to the very renewal we all want. The second is that the victim/savior plot allows an insidious unconscious fear of the helplessness and vulnerability that is a repressed aspect of all of our lives to become a source of distancing for the “saviors” who know unconsciously that they, too, are vulnerable.

People will distance themselves from those they perceive as victims, not out of malice or callousness, but because they do not have the psychological strength to cope with the feelings of vulnerability and fragility that dealing with victims inevitably raises. Rather than face those feelings and recognize that we are all both helpers and “helpees,” victims and saviors in an interdependent dance, we disassociate from them and distance ourselves from the painful situation.

The sooner we can tell a story that invites all Americans into an historic opportunity  one that invites us to address not only the needs of New Orleanians, but the deeper needs and hopes that we have for a decent, just and equitable society; one that invites us to participate not only in disaster relief, but in the renewal of one city as an example of the renewal that many of us know deep down is something needed in cities throughout America  the sooner we can galvanize commitment and energy. It simply is recognizing one of the deepest spiritual truths that people intuitively know  tragedy has within it the seeds of profound opportunity and it is unpacking, seizing and realizing that opportunity that defines what is best about our humanness. This is a leadership task, and it is frighteningly missing today.
 

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