“Revisionist history,” that is, revising history to meet economic agendas, is happening across the globe today. And it is occurring in both autocratic and democratic societies, noted New York Times columnist and international reporter Max Fisher. But it’s nothing new. 

Ever since the Bible, those in power have been rewriting history to meet their own economic needs. But unlike those early days, we’re smarter now, or so we think. Alas, too many of us are being played in a larger game of bait-and-switch. 

Scoring: Business Models In Disguise

Scoring drives every game and the game of revisionist history is no different. That scoring takes the form of the business model. It’s how the game designers make money and win. 

Luckily, journalists are exposing that scoring for what it is, especially in the U.S. 

• Francisco Cantu outlined the immigration business models in his beautifully crafted memoir, The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border.

• Benjamin Lorr outlined the grocery industry business models in his engaging narrative nonfiction work, The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket.

• Amelia Pang exposed the heart-breaking business model behind made-in-China products in Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America’s Cheap Goods.

Here’s the Bait-and-Switch: Your Personal Score 

Your life is your personal scoring mechanism. Like the game designers, your goal is to “win,” that is, to make money and build wealth, and/or to live emotionally pain-free. So you get smart about it. You order from Amazon. You don’t open the lid on emotional challenges. You shrug your shoulder with a “What can I do?” attitude about social issues. You turn your back on anything that might disrupt your comfortable lifestyle.

Then, you tally your personal score. If it’s in the black, for instance, if you saved money or didn’t feel any pain, you think you’re winning. But alas, your “wins” are part of the larger game. You’re doing exactly what the big-money game designers wanted: boosting their bottom lines and bowing to their agendas, often at the expense of others or the society. 

What You Can Do About the Larger Game

• Make sure your (values) ladder is up against the right wall. That means looking below the storyline, of cheap goods for instance, to the business model a company is using and all the ways it makes its money. Then, assess if what they do and how they do it, aligns with your values. If it doesn’t, step out of their game.

• Decide to look and live more deeply. Look below the storyline you’re being fed. Don’t turn away from emotional pain. Confront the dragons of personal and social dis-ease and befriend them. (You’ll find, by accident, a more meaningful life.) 

• Do nothing. Continue to live without much thought to how the larger game’s scoring impacts all those who contribute to it. Make your cage comfortable (a nod to Virginia Woolf) and live within its confines. 

It’s your move.

M. Carolyn Miller, MA, designs narrative- and game-based learning. She also writes and speaks about the power of story in our lives and world. www.cultureshape.com