I recently came across this story that really had me inspired:
Until, I went ahead to investigate the authenticity of this story, only to find out that there is no reliable evidence that Mead said what has been attributed to her. In fact, fractured bones found in the archaeological record could possibly point to the presence of interpersonal violence among ancient humans as mentioned by Lasco(2022) in his article – https://www.sapiens.org/culture/margaret-mead-femur/
However, thanks to the internet, the inaccurate story went viral and
was also published online by Forbes during COVID-19. It aimed to inspire readers to help others during the difficulties of the corona times, as “Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts,” a quote attributed to Margaret Mead according to Blumenfeld (2020) –
But what is to be noted is that, even though the story may be factually inaccurate, it was able to bring people together in the times of crisis and even push them to bring about a positive behavioural change. This can be attributed to the human need of “storytelling” and “narrative”. The whole world that is functioning on these “stories” that have been made up by humans. Rather than being literally or factually true, the stories must be emotionally truthful, and this is enough to motivate people to take action—whether it’s adopting sustainable behaviors, giving to charities, or destigmatizing mental health.