Fiction drives our world. In my first article, Illumination: How Stories Reveal God to Us, I talked in detail about how our minds and societies metabolize and grow on stories. The reality about these stories is that often they are saturated with fiction. For better or for worse. Because of that, I have been wanting to expand the types of articles I write to include thought pieces on fiction's role in society. Coincidently, last week's election provided the perfect doorway into this new type of content. It seems clear to me that during this election, fiction played a major role.

If you live in America or follow American politics, you will be aware that this November has been a time of particular tension and upheaval. As a democratic republic, we just recently conducted an election for the executive branch of our government and the person who many people believe to be the most powerful individual in the world. Even if you are not an American, though, we can all learn a lesson from how elections have been conducted.

Whoever you choose to vote for in November or whether you were happy about the outcome, you are likely relieved that the ride is over. The media commentary, the talking heads, and

the endless ads spilling out of every corner no matter where you turn. It's enough to put anyone on anxiety meds.

During a conversation with my boss recently she shared a political ad that got me thinking about the role of storytelling in the election. I don't think it's even fair to say elections are the only area in the political realm we could apply these thoughts to. Election campaigns function as a larger version of the marketing we swim through every day, all day long. More accurately, the propaganda.

For someone who has never had any training in marketing, you may not be able to catch the fiction playing a role in the commercial you just skipped to get to the real content on YouTube. That's what the creators of that ad wanted when they built it. If you didn't know where to look in the dazzling slight of hands on the campaign trail, you may have lost sight of reality. I know I did on several occasions. Sometimes I still wonder if I've returned to true north.

Fiction is powerful and impactful. One of the reasons why is that our brains cannot fully differentiate between a well-told fiction and a motivating truth and they create a chemical reaction to either. This is also where the danger lies. If you don't know what you are consuming is fiction, it can drive the wrong kind of changes. So let me, as much as I am capable, start to pull the veil back. We are lucky to live in a country where we enjoy freedom of information, perhaps this is a continuation of your own thoughts, or perhaps you are just being introduced to this perspective. The great thing about truth is that it makes itself known when we earnestly search for it. Especially, I feel, for the discerning Christian who knows the author of all truth. (Jeremiah 29:13. John 16:13)

I tried and failed to create an avatar for my business. Maybe that's one of the reasons I was never that great at marketing. An avatar, in marketer speak, is not a blue alien or a child with

wind-bending abilities. Rather, marketers are encouraged to create a fictional persona that best fits the audience they are seeking.

The way I was taught looked something like this. Who would pick up my book off the shelf and pull the twenty dollars out of their pocket for it? Was it a woman, or a man? Maybe he has three

kids and plans to read a chapter or two after they are snuggled in bed. Perhaps She will be flipping pages on the train to work in the morning. I would ask myself what they spent their

disposable income on. I needed to learn where they spent their free time. The avatar needs to have a name, a personality, and a life story.

It was important to understand their values and their motivations. Because I couldn't possibly understand every individual, I would create my own person, and sell the book to them. In the end, it's a more palatable way to press a large number of people into a rather small and more digestible box.

The reason why companies are so eager to collect your information is precisely for this reason. The more they know, the better they kind find their audience and the more effectively

they can get their product out into the world.

For instance, my readers are typically 20-45-year-old women who work desk jobs but spend their free time outdoors. They enjoy nature, hiking, and STEM. They are introverted, though most are religious and do have tight-knit communities. Disposable income goes to high-quality items with a large return on investment such as hiking boots, gym memberships, and classes. As young

millennials, they are driven by social issues but tend towards nihilism and escapism.

After I learned that, I removed most swearing from my books and increased the deep issues I looked at. A significant portion of my word count describes nature and small

tidbits of science and history. I don't focus on romance.

It is easier to manipulate an individual to do what you want than it is to manipulate a group. Because of this concepts such as "avatars" and "demographics" exist, even if most are dehumanizing and rely on stereotypes.

Why do I tell you all this? The reality is that the campaign trail is just one political party or another selling themselves to you. The most effective way to reach voters was to know voters, and then to package the candidate for them. Parties will always dehumanize you and smash you into the closest demographic because it is the only effective way to sell themselves.

This is neither good nor evil, but it is a reality we need to remember.

I recently heard a voter say about her candidate of choice "They see me." It may feel that way, but the truth is that the candidate she chose just chose a marketing packet that happened to resonate with this person's feelings. The truth is that no candidate can see you as an individual voter, because a world tailored to one person's wants and desires is very likely to be hell for most others. At best, this candidate has policies that align with this voter's opinions on how a society should function. The feeling of "being seen" is the result of excellent marketing.

This doesn't make this voter dumb, or the candidate evil. This is how our brains are wired as human beings. What it means is that this voter's empathy and social skills are functioning well and that this candidate did an excellent job selling themselves and their agenda. Neither are good or evil. But it is dangerous to expect a human being or a government entity to meet a need such as that of being seen and known.

This same sentiment was echoed by Sara's handmaiden, Hagar after she and her son were sent out into the desert. Hagar, knowing her son was dying of thirst, lay him under a bush and went away because she couldn't bear to watch him die. She was a slave. A woman. A foreigner taken from her land. A worshiper of a foreign god. She shared the identity of many of the individuals who are, in so many ways, being failed by our government and society. The God of her captor came to her in that place and rescued her and her son. This is the same son who was the product of Abraham's rape and Sarah's faithlessness. The son who's descendants would be so violent against Isreal today.

When Hagar saw God she knew that He was there because of His love for her and her son. She called him "El Roi", The God who Sees. It was the name she also gave to the well that God provided to give water to her and her son. (Genesis 16)

The feeling that we can be seen and known by Harris or Trump is a well-crafted fiction created to incite action. The knowledge that the God who created the world sees us and knows us is a truth that exists for God's glory and our good.

Once a marketer knows the story of the consumer, they have a new story to craft. This is the story they will tell consumers about their product. They know, at least in part, what their target market cares about. They have a good idea of where they can reach those customers. Packaging and placement will be tailored to fit those tastes. It all tells a story that the consumer will believe much more easily. Youtuber Brandon Shepherd is a design artist who films examples of how items are branded to fit a new narrative. It truly mind-boggling to see how he can rebrand the packaging of nearly anything to tell whatever story he wants.

Let's pretend a marketer wants to sell a sugar-packed candy bar to health enthusiasts. He tampers with the ingredients, changes the name to "energy bar", puts it in a box with an image of a hiking couple, and sells it in a sports supply store. The same strategy could be used by a company that deeply cares about healthy food and is passionate about consumer's health. The truth is that the story that is shared with us is primarily written to catch the consumer's attention, not to convey the truth.

I originally started this article with a note about an ad. In this ad, voters decried why they would not be voting for the opposition. Arguments ranged from "I want to be able to vote again

six days from now" to "I don't want to be deported six days from now." A very small amount of research showed that most of these claims were hyperbole at best. I was very deliberate about getting in to cast my vote, however, the idea that this was the most important election of all time also had me snickering a little.

There were many reasons to be genuinely anxious about the outcome of this election. I had to, however, keep in mind that many of the stories people were telling were either partially or entirely fiction. Like every good story, they started with a grain of truth. Trump may be racist, but would a genuine comparison to history prove that he is on the same level as Hitler? Biden and Harris did come into power during a time of social upheaval and they do lean further left than many American politicians in their positions before. Does that mean they stole the 2021 election?

The reality is that two things can be true at the same time. Trump and Harris both have some extreme stances, and both have been unfairly demonized. Part of the nature of our system of government is that votes and voters alike are, in essence, bought and sold. It is not money that truly matters here, though corruption is genuinely an issue all over the world and in all political parties. The currency of the American government, of every government, is stories.

America is more polarized than ever. Some of this is righteous enmity. Scripture asked "What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what does light have to do with darkness." (2 Corinthians 6:14)

I can love my fellow Americans who oppose laws protecting the unborn, but we will never find common ground. Either an unborn child is a human made in the image of God and abortion is

murder, or they are not human and abortion is the ending of a sacred life. Humans of all races and genders are worthy of respect and love, or they are not. I will never be able to find any mutual understanding with a white supremacist. I have Jewish heritage, I'm on their hit list.

For most social instances, however, people are not as vastly divided as we might like to believe. There may be a few loud, or rather attention-grabbing examples of the extremes on both sides,

however, the average American does not hold extreme views. Unity as a country, and even more importantly for me, unity as a church, depends on our ability to look our fellow man in the eye and say "I do not agree, but I love you." No matter what political party you stand on, one issue that is almost universally accepted right now is the need for unity. Some individuals on both sides think that unity is best established by killing or exiling those who don't fit the correct demographic. But the goal is the same. For that to happen, we need to start telling each other some new stories. Here are a few of the stories I would love to us to start to talk about.

"You can disagree with someone and still love them."

"The government doesn't define right and wrong, but must bow to it."

"Most issues will only begin to be resolved when we work on them together."

"There are many things we may disagree on, but there are also many we can fight against together."

"My candidate may not care about me as an individual, but my community does."

"The only effective way for our rights to be preserved is to keep the power in the hands of the people."

"It is not the president's job to love my neighbor, it is mine."

"No matter what hands hold the power in America, it is God who reigns sovereign"

In the end, there is only one true story and only one truth that saves. We are approaching December and I've started listening to Christmas music a bit early. I needed to hear that true story.

This is the story on which every other true thing must be built. If you trust God, your worldview must be built upon his Word. Our hope isn't found in the president who rises to power next. It's not built on how well they see us and fight for our perspectives. America may have begun as a Christian nation, but I truly believe we are now post-Christian. We cannot overrule democracy for the sake of morality, as much as we would like. However, I still believe it's essential for Christians to vote, serve, and live their public lives according to their Christian standards.

Jesus is not our president, but America is not our country and this world is not our home. You and I belong to the Kingdom of Heaven and our king holds the throne forever.