Why do we tell the story of our oppression?

It is in the telling of the story that transformation occurs. In every liberation movement, the sharing of stories becomes crucial. When women fist gathered in consciousness raising groups or alcoholics shared their experience, strength and hope in smoky church basements, stories were shared. I begin to see that story isn't just my story. First we touch the common pain then the common hope. From there we devise strategies for transformation. I am no longer caught in the isolation of my uniqueness. The fear and self-doubt that I feel about myself is revealed to be without substance. Every oppressor knows how subversive groups can be and tries to keep the oppressed from talking to each other, from telling their stories to one another. 


haggadah Section: Maggid - Beginning
Source: Sheila Peltz Weinberg