Social Consideration

Possibly the most popular style for fictional writing, many authors place a single character as the sole focus within their stories, the only character who can achieve ultimate goals within each plot.  In doing so, authors are belittling other characters; and in that, belittling broader contributions of people.  Such a statement may seem exaggerated, and most every author will deny such implications. Even so, authors, readers and societies are affected by the practice.

When authors adopt monocentric writing styles, all other characters within their stories become supporting cast; and in that sense, authors pamper egos of readers, diminishing the story’s plot.  Social responses and readers are not entirely the author’s fault – and no guiding censorship is implied within this article. However, authors and readers may wish to consider how this style is affecting people, even themselves.

Readers have the largest role in this effect on societies. Readers of fiction are often reaching for an escape from their tedious lives.  That says a lot about societies, as well as relations people have with each other. Often, these people begin to desire more for their lives while applying less effort to gain it. In effect, they begin to despise their role within societies. They become resentful of others who they see as luckier.

Like focus characters in stories they read, readers begin to believe they should be honored as superior to others. Readers often begin to consider themselves indispensable – even when their own contributions and efforts within teams and societies are less than others around them. They may even believe things would fall apart without them.

As we consider how this style of writing belittles people within societies, let’s look at the function of people within teams.  Teams thrive when members function in synergy, with each providing varying levels of contributions as needed. Even people with minor contributions have roles, and each must be honest about what they add to the team compared to others.

Unfortunately, people start to feel their meager contributions are more important than what others perform. Most people don’t pay attention to efforts and achievements brought by others, claiming they’re ‘Too busy to be concerned about other people.’  It’s not that they’re busy; it’s that they don’t truly care about other people – no matter what they may say. It’s a form of selfishness.

People who believe their lives are busy should consider what they do each day. If they evaluate themselves honestly, they would discover considerable waste in their hours.  What’s even worse, they rush around as though they’re busy, instead of organizing activities more productively. They forget that ‘haste makes waste’ and present all sorts of excuses to explain why they haven’t achieved goals – or inflate the nature of goals they finally accomplish. They even use family and friends as excuses.

Those same ‘busy’ people often drive recklessly from one appointment to another, endangering other people; all under the explanation that, ‘They’re too busy to waste time driving sensibly.’ They believe they are driving sensibly.  When they’re involved in accidents, they’ll blame other people for not paying attention, or express some excuse that places blame elsewhere. Those ‘busy’ people will not recognize their personal recklessness and haste as the cause. To them, their role in society is far too important for them to be at fault.

Such views are reinforced by monocentric writing and how readers absorb stories centered on focal characters. When it comes to monocentric stories, only the focal character is important. That’s the character at the center of all things, often having other characters declaring, ‘You’re the only one who can do it.’

Life and societies don’t flow like that. When people have to face realities of life – especially when dealing with tedious objectives – monocentric people start to blame others for their meager existence, as though everyone else is luckier.

If each person truly examines lives of other people – as well as their own – they would see only the rarest of them gain what may be considered natural luck, those precious breaks that come to them.  Wise people will also discover what is perceived as ‘lucky breaks’ are a result of perseverance, the persistent efforts it takes to achieve the multitude of tedious tasks that are needed to accomplish goals in order to make progress.

Viewing life as it is, people would see each person makes most all their ‘luck;’ and luck is a form of perseverance.  How those people handle tedious tasks in their life—doing what must be done while others wrestled to disrupt progression—enables those ‘other people’ to make true achievements.

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In applying glorified importance to focal characters, writers weaken story plots, as well as character development.  Such writing styles make people see themselves as diminished.  That causes people to inflate their lives in order to falsely bolster and prop up their self-esteem.  Such people falsely bolster their self-esteem instead of working more diligently at tedious activities and goals.  They, themselves, are too important for tedious activities.  They refuse to see themselves as supporting cast. They have to be the focal character in life, telling others how to live, behave and act.

Worse still, it is common for monocentric writers to imply other characters are effectively moronic; presenting them as highly dependent on the focal character. Such writers will skirt this view by instilling special skills onto a few supporting cast members as though that elevates them towards the focal character. However, those supporting characters will bow to the importance and superiority of the focal character, even when supporting members are consistently more proficient.

When reading monocentric stories, it becomes clear any difficulties focal characters encounter are less threatening to them than to supporting cast. Readers know other characters will default to focal character’s superiority, centering all important goals and achievements within the plot to that single character.  When the prime character is threatened, the only question readers have is how focal characters will wiggle themselves out of impending doom.  What miraculous act is the focal character going to perform – or which supporting character will come to their rescue – so the focal character can progress?

When readers apply the ‘rescue effect’ to their own lives, they develop expectations that other people must come to their aid when their own skills and abilities are found lacking.  When their own skills and abilities fail, monocentric people lash out at other people, as though those other people were supposed to assist them in their glorified importance.

Since societies rely on the efforts of teams, reliance on each person within each team – which includes families – is needed. Unfortunately, monocentric people overstate their contributions and importance.

Accepting the need for mutual reliance; if one falters, then another should step in and assist with goals needing to be accomplished.  However, in assisting, each must not inflate their participation within the team or family.  They must honor contributions all members bring along, as well as honoring true leadership. It’s important not to mistake assistance as superiority or leadership.

Monocentric authors would say supporting cast assisting focal characters justifies their writing style, that ‘Each character has a role to play, and all characters have important tasks to perform when achieving goals.  Such writers would add, ‘It’s the role of all supporting cast members to assist the main character in achieving highlighted and ultimate goals.’

On the surface, those statements are generally worthy. That’s the role of supporting casts. However, such views build social disconnections and warped sense of achievements.  Such views cause people to feel they should be the only one who could achieve glorified goals; that ultimately, they are the only correct person for the task; that everyone else must admire them as being superior.  In that thinking, monocentric people will never see themselves as supporting cast members within societies.

In holding such views, readers become monocentric. They start to see themselves as indispensable and the center of the universe; that everyone in the various teams is to act on their behalf; that tasks completed by other people are less important than petty contributions the monocentric person presents.

As that view continues, monocentric people become more critical of achievements accomplished by others, until they don’t see the value in other people at all.  Achievements by others, no matter how much better those achievements may be, are to be demeaned and seen as less important. All this is often done to raise the self-esteem of the monocentric person.

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When writing in monocentric styles, authors protect focal characters at the risk of all supporting cast members. Since, in that style, no other character can fulfill the story’s ultimate conclusion, ultimate goals of any plot must always be accomplished by the prime character.  That places the focal character as absolutely essential. No risk they take is truly threatening.  Either the focal character’s ‘superior’ skills, knowledge and abilities will enable them to escape pending doom; or the sacrifice of support characters will enable focal characters to continue and shine, and be the one applauded by the masses during the conclusion of each story.

Also, any declaration made by focal characters is rarely incorrect; and most often presented as a means to highlight the prime character’s ‘superior’ position in the story – even if their intellect does not match.  Even more common is the practice of using superior declarations as a way for writers to show a moronic view of supporting cast members – even challenging any sense of greatness and other characters.

When readers place themselves into the role of focal characters, lives of other people become viewed as support cast to them, and less important than the self-centered person.  Overall performance of supporting cast members is not as important and the focus must remain on the singular character.

Not only is this limiting for authors, it creates a disturbing condition in readers’ thoughts and lives. Even worse, it becomes dangerous for societies as a whole.  With millions believing they’re the sole focus of life, those persons become disruptive to any team they may be part of, including families, since each family is a team. Monocentric people—and there are a great many of them—will continue to see other people as inferior.  They do so to elevate their own importance, even seeing their guidance as superior – even when they are less capable.

As presented many times already, monocentric persons begin to believe they have superior knowledge and abilities, seeing contributions of others as inferior or unimportant.  Monocentric people will continue to believe they know better than others within teams, even when they don’t have true contributions or accomplishments to present.

To further inflate their egos, many self-centered people involve themselves within many teams as a way to expand the number of bloated achievements.  For every achievement each team gain, egos of minor members inflate further – even if their only input is sitting at the table, injecting comments occasionally – comments that are merely agreements or objections related to comments other members make.

If each person honestly evaluate efforts each person enacts, they will discover only the truly gifted and creative bring innovative concepts.  Everyone else is just coasting along taking credit, and that includes most every monocentric person.

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People may object to comparisons applied between life and stories, declaring, ‘Stories are only stories, and life is different.’  However, good stories bring life examples into plots; and self-inflated persons begin to view themselves within the context of focal characters of stories.

In relating their lives to those around them, comparisons of achievements become twisted in their personal views, and self-centered people bloat their own achievements while belittling achievements of others. This process causes them to see their life as the focal character.

Life continues, and stories often become influential in people’s views of their own lives. In that, monocentric people continue to consider themselves as focal characters.  They may believe they’re honoring contributions from others on the various teams.  However, such recognitions are only applied if it doesn’t interfere with the ‘superior contribution’ monocentric person present.

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Societies require many people to apply their abilities and skills.  If they don’t, societies fail to function. Each of us must remember that most every task is tedious and most any person is capable of doing virtually all such tasks.  It is not glamorous, but the population must accept that extremely few have great abilities, and even fewer might be indispensable.  The mass majority are incapable of greatness, though they still have important roles to achieve.  The mass majority are to perform the multitude of menial tasks within societies and teams needing attending to.  They must also remember virtually anyone can do those needed tasks.

In reviewing how societies function – despite minor contributions by the many inflated egos – it becomes obvious stories are far more interesting than most every aspect within life.  However, all the tedious tasks need to be accomplished for societies to function smoothly. It also becomes clear only those who truly create ‘lasting, unique’ contributions progress societies, and those persons are extremely rare.

Inflated persons who continually inject themselves onto teams within societies are not progressing societies. They only assist in helping societies to function smoothly – as long as they are not coasting along or leeching off others, or becoming disruptive because they believe they have more importance than other people. Unfortunately, those lesser persons tend to take credit for efforts achieved by others.

Truly gifted people are rarely recognized for their abilities, and their efforts to bring societies forward for everyone are all too often overlooked.

Supporting roles within societies are important, and each member beyond the many leeches has functions to be accomplished.  It is important for each person to restrain from inflating their own egos and self-importance.  Each of us must give credit to those who are truly innovative and creative, as well as to those who accomplish the many tedious tasks; not those who take claim for goals at the expense of more worthy persons.

People also must be aware of the many who inject scant contributions to societies, those who believe they have accomplished great objectives.  We all must also be cautious of leeches who feel their own meager existence is worthy of greater privileges without having to provide reasonable contributions into societies. Those leaching persons, as well as the many inflated people, must acknowledge those who are truly gifted within populations – those who present viable contributions to the progression of societies.

Heisters of societies—highly inflated persons and managers who take claim for achievements accomplished by others—must be restrained from benefiting from the efforts of others.  Those people within societies must not be allowed to claim contributions performed by other people, especially the creative and gifted. There are far too many heisters taking credit, and those persons must be exposed for what they are; people who are, at best, mere supporting members of any team and society.

Results from life – as in stories – comes to fruition through the efforts of all achieving characters, and the focus of life is to attend to the multitude of tedious tasks and to present functioning accomplishments, performing valid contribution for the progress of society.

Of course, there are disruptive elements; those who will place obstacles and pitfalls in the paths of more achieving people, so they, themselves, seem better.  Each of us must ensure credit is provided to those who are truly worthy – the actual achievers of objectives and goals.  Also, while doing so, we must not inflate the importance of less effective people, as well as preventing heisters from taking credit.  In life, as in stories, credit must be given to deserving people, and such deserving people must not be overshadowed by monocentric people, leeches or heisters.

BCW-JZ

April 2023