Stepping in it
Starting on September 1, 1939, as the Nazi Blitzkrieg machine barreled inexorably through Western Europe, the scale of death and destruction quickly escalated to unimaginable levels. In case you were wondering what ‘Blitzkrieg’ means, it is the German doctrine of ‘lightning war’ in which an ill-prepared opponent is rapidly overrun with overwhelming multifaceted force resulting in surrender and/or annihilation.
In just 6 weeks, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France were invaded and subdued by German forces. The ferocity and intensity of the German war campaign were such that Luxembourg was occupied on the very first day of the attack, and the Netherlands surrendered in just 5 days. It quickly became clear to Great Britain that a direct and brutal confrontation with this ruthless beast was only a matter of time.
Neville Chamberlain, who was the prime minister of Great Britain at the beginning of the war had flirted with Hitler, taking the sly dictator at his word that he would not attack England. Clearly, the prime minister had dangerously miscalculated and would be unfit to lead the war effort. Amid that gathering storm, Chamberlain would resign, and Winston Churchill would step in.
Churchill was not only inheriting a rapidly approaching war, but also a disillusioned and demoralized nation. The prevailing narrative in town was doom and destruction. The predictions were dire: Millions would be killed and many more would suffer severe psychological damage. It was at this time that Winston Churchill started a counter-narrative.
He knew that to stand a chance to win the war, his people’s morale had to be raised from the abyss where it was. The new prime minister painted a picture of Allied valor in the distant battlefields (some of which were simply, well, made up) and gave a series of rousing speeches. A snippet of one of them was this
“I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat". We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.
You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalog of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs—Victory in spite of all terror—Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”
Winston Churchill
One speech at a time, one decision at a time, Churchill imbued his countrymen with the confidence they sorely needed to fight off the enemy. As anticipated, the Germans brought the war home to Great Britain. In an eight-month period spanning September 7, 1940- May 11, 1941, London and other locations in Britain would endure sustained aerial bombing by the German Luftwaffe in what came to be known as the ‘Blitz’- a term coined from ‘Blitzkrieg’.
Astonishingly, however, through this dark period, the dire predictions fell apart and the people of Britain coped very well. People just got used to the bombings and stayed in the fight. While the reasons adduced for this surprising resilience are varied, there can be no doubt that Churchill's counter-narrative and strong leadership played a big role.
One of the hallmarks of strong leadership is the ability to hammer away at a pervasive despondent narrative by introducing one of courage, resolve, and valor. The effect of this can be dramatic. Propaganda works by a similar mechanism.
All said it is easier for such a counter-narrative to take a foothold and compete favorably with the prevailing doom-and-gloom narrative if the source is from the top. This is because a top-down counter-narrative is backed with authority and often legitimacy. A well-functioning leadership is like a pacemaker that has the machinery to set the tone for the whole system. However, leaders do not always live up to their responsibilities and they would many times set a negative tone through their passivity and fear.
Bottom-up
While it is generally more difficult for a counter-narrative to permeate from below especially if the prevailing negative narrative is set from above, history is replete with examples of people who effected change from the bottom up. One of those examples is David’s influence on the battlefield in the moments leading up to his face-off with Goliath.
1 Sam 17:24, 26-27, 30-31
Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
New International Version
In the Israelite camp ranked with fear and held tightly in the death grip of despondency, David did something very powerful. He began to inject a counter-narrative gradually, persistently, one soldier at a time. Like yeast permeating the dough, this counter-narrative would work its way through the demoralized camp until it gets to the king. This strategy of fighting giants is the master playbook of underdogs.
David began to engage with the men on the battlefield starting by connecting with them on the positive aspect (reward for killing the giant) and then attempting to change their negative fearful perspective by casting Goliath in a different light (an uncircumcised philistine defying God himself). Where others saw death, David saw a reward. Where others saw an impregnable giant, David saw a vulnerable uncircumcised enemy of the living God.
David continued to have this conversation with many people, to the point that his words spread in the camp and the people spread it to the king’s ears. While David’s relentless push of a counter-narrative did not result in the Israeli soldiers erupting in a rousing battle cry, or even pushing a single soldier to show valor to confront Goliath, it produced 3 other powerful effects:
He gradually injected a competing counter-narrative into a despondent camp
He propelled himself from behind the camp to the king who could make a decision to allow him to take up Goliath’s challenge. Put another way, these conversations laid a path for him from obscurity to the decision-maker.
He built momentum for himself, one conversation at a time. I want to believe that with each conversation, David’s boldness grew. You begin to believe it yourself even when you tell a lie repeatedly. How much more repeating a truth!
From your corner
There are problems in society that seem to lie entirely in the circle of our concern and completely outside the circle of our influence. However, when we look carefully, there is usually something we can start doing, however small in our own little corner. We need not bother about how our small steps would eventually bring us within striking distance of the giant, we only need to take the small steps and take them consistently and let those steps compound.
There is power in believing and spreading the word that the dominance of darkness will not last forever. There is power in being the little candle that keeps shining through the night until the light of day dawns. There is power in spreading a positive counter-narrative starting from where we are. The more we say it, the more we believe it, and the more likely it will reach the ears that matter most.
The gospel in action
The gospel is a bottom-up counter-narrative. It challenges firmly held notions such as the centrality of man and the dominance of darkness. The gospel is more than a narrative that is carefully crafted to explain common phenomena or boost morale; it is the truth that dispels the devil's lies. Jesus, born of a woman into a lowly family grew up like a tender plant and challenged the religious institutions of his days that have led people astray. His words and deeds spread from the grassroots until they reached and shook religious and political power halls.
Today, that gospel has spread and is still spreading throughout the world. Still, there remains a lot of darkness in the world and God is counting on those who have come to believe in Jesus to spread His Powerful counter-narrative.