The Ragan Theatre on Utah Valley State College campus was packed Friday, as hundreds of fans and friends attended a lecture by Orson Scott Card on “Storytelling Ethics”.
He began his lecture by making the statement, “To die for your homeland is sweet and right.”
Then he continued, “A hundred years ago, there would be no question that this would be true. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t say that now.”
He equated the downfall of moral “stories” in our culture as being the reason our government is in such a state of disarray.
These “stories” that Card refers to, come from a bevy of sources ranging from news and gossip to scripture and fiction.
“By telling a story you are giving it validation. The stories that affect us most are when the morality is subtle,” Card said.
“If you get control of stories, you can change history,” Card said.
Card expressed the opinion that our nation is in for a fall similar to Yugoslavia’s.
“We have the seeds of hate and violence in us now. Nations without morals deeply embedded in their culture don’t last very long,” Card said.
Many of the students in attendance felt they came away with a new insight and a different view on the fate of our nation.
“It’s interesting how he used the term “stories” to encapsulate our societies values,” said Taylor Giles, a junior at UVSC majoring in computer science. “His analysis of how we got to where we are was very sound.”
“I didn’t agree with everything. He did make me stop and think and I liked most things he said,” said Carrie Oscarson, a senior at BYU majoring in interior design.
As a means of combating this desensitization, Card offers the advice of “never shutting up,” and “don’t let things pass.”
“These are the ways you change the world,” Card said.
In a lecture given later in the day, Card read from his latest, unpublished work, “The Elephants of Posnan.” Card announced a few more of his upcoming works including a new book called “Enchantment” which comes out in April.
According to Card it is the story of Sleeping Beauty waking up in 1991 in Ukraine.
A new novel in the “Ender’s Game” series is also in the works. The new book is entitled “Ender’s Shadow.”
