Despite the delusional beliefs of the post-modernist left, their clearly counterproductive actions, outright deception – both of themselves and the public – their ideology persists.

There are many reasons for this, but an important factor is the left’s intuitive understanding of the power of narrative. They recognise the seminal significance of the stories people tell themselves about themselves. It is through personal narratives that people attach meaning to the fact of their struggles and suffering.

The conservative mind is more managerial, concerning itself with outcomes. What we conservatives fail to understand on a fundamental level is that reality is not merely material. It’s not that reality doesn’t express itself in matter. This is not a gnostic appeal to reject the material realm or deny science. It is simply to observe the way humans interpret facts and the meaning people give to events are both part of and shape existence. What the post-modernist left understand that conservatives don’t is how humans perceive their world and interpret its meaning. Humans experience reality through narrative. Each of us is the main character of the feature film of our life.

Understanding these stories helps to shape the physical things humans build in the societies they create. Narrative becomes part of the fabric of reality. Even delusions manifest in the material universe and become terribly real. Read the stories of anyone who lived in Soviet Russia amongst its social experiment built on a dark ideological fantasy…

Conservatives once believed that building a successful society which created wealth and raised people out of poverty would be proof enough to convince capitalism’s cynics and sceptics.

Instead, the left had a different interpretation of reality…

For them, Western Judeo-Christian civilisation was never characterised by its successes (which secured liberty, created wealth, and strove for recognition of the universal dignity of all). Rather, for them it was, and continues to be, an article of faith that our civilisation is founded on oppression, dispossession, and racism. They constructed new origin stories, be it America’s 1619 project, or ‘truth telling’ commissions in Australia. Forgetting the power of narrative, we funded and enabled the post-modernist left to concoct new counterfactuals for the founding of our nation and the history of Western Civilisation itself.

To merely argue about facts misses the point. The new narrative has emotional resonance because it has a clear plot driven by conflict and tension. It gains potency by allowing participants to project themselves into the role of virtuous good guys, heroically standing up to imagined oppressors. It addresses, even if in a controversial way the big question; who are we? It is relatable because everyone recognises there was oppression, dispossession, and racism. Part of the response is to point out these events, while real is not definitive. It is inaccurate to categorise Western Civilisation by its failure to obtain the perfection it sought. But focusing purely on this strategy is to remain unimaginatively managerial. A counter-narrative needs to be told.

Tony Abbott’s new book is a good start, but there is a story little known and I suspect, purposefully neglected by self-appointed truth tellers. In July of 1770, His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour beached at the location which later became Cooktown, where the Guugu Yimithirr live. For 48 days peace reigned with exchanges of food and water. However, the ship’s crew took 12 turtles for food, not knowing they were breaching custom and lore. Invited onto the Endeavour, Guugu Yimithirr warriors saw the turtles on the deck, became angry and tried to release them.

The warriors left the ship and lit fires around the crew’s onshore campsite. In the melee, a musket shot struck a Guugu Yimithirr man. He was lightly wounded because light shot had purposefully been used so as not to kill. An elder, referred to as ‘The Little Old Man’ by Cook and Banks in their journals showed leadership and courage. In the melee, the Little Old Man went to a place, a site long recognised by Guugu Yimithirr warriors as a space for negotiation. A place where Guugu Yimithirr lore forbade the spilling of blood.

The story passed down from both sides is The Little Old Man, upholding Guugu Yimithirr custom wiped sweat from his underarms and blew it on Captain Cook, thereby anointing the Captain with his scent. The Little Old Man knew engaging in this deeply symbolic ritual would cause Dreamtime spirits and other tribe members to recognise Captain Cook, thereby assimilating the Captain into the Dreaming story of the people and the land. At that moment, Captain and crew became part of the Dreamtime, which Indigenous people believe is a story that was and will forever be told. Language was a problem, but Cook saw a broken spear with the tip removed and recognised the symbolism. Despite the language barrier, a peace was brokered through signs, symbols, and action. We know exactly where this happened, and that place is now appropriately named Reconciliation Rocks. In an amusing aside, Guugu Yimithirr language is where the word ‘kangaroo’ comes from. When asked what the name of the astounding hopping creature was, the Guugu Yimithirr replied ‘Kangaroo’ which means ‘I don’t understand’. Or so the legend goes.

This story is not ‘truer’ than others but more accurately captures our history. Strangers coming to a strange land. A misunderstanding, a clash of culture that became a conflict between men where blood was shed. A proud people living their own lore who had sites as sacred as cathedrals. Significantly, the symbolic act of the Little Old Man, incorporating foreigners into the Dreamtime story to reconcile peoples is coming true. Yes, there are continuing tensions and disputes, but we are becoming one people. This true tale of hope is the founding narrative conservatives should be trumpeting from the treetops. MPs should be mentioning this event in every speech, it should be promoted by think tanks and taught in schools. Until we seek, recognise, promote this and other stories like it, conservatives will continue to lose the battle of the narratives which shape our perception of the past and vision for the future.