An example, from Brian Swimmne's The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, of how stories can illuminate systems, in this case how an ancient Greek drama can send a powerful message for today:
We can say that even though Oedipus was made king of Thebes, he did not actually live in the kingdom of Thebes. For to live in the kingdom means to live in proper relationship with the members of the kingdom. But Oedipus was in proper relationship with no one: he was the husband of his mother; he was the murderer of his father. And yet if anyone had asked whether or not he lived in the kingdom of Thebes he would think the questioner insane, for where else could he be? But in the deeper sense of his own understanding of his essential nature and role in Thebes, he was not a member of the kingdom; he was an abomination of the kingdom.
We too regard ourselves as living on Earth. But we do not live on Earth in the sense of living as members of Earth's Community. Both in our activities, as well as in our own understanding of ourselves and Earth, we are simply not members of Earth's life. We live in this split condition, thinking we are members of Earth, unaware that we are the destroyers of Earth (55-56).
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