Storytelling, the death of an art?

Storytelling. It is the life of the present, by visiting the past. Telling stories, whether they are fictional or non-fictional engages audiences to search, explore and learn about themselves and their surroundings. Storytelling has always been an art. The better the storyteller, the more engaged their audience would continue to be. But in our world today with all its Tik Tok videos, influencers and woke agendas, storytelling has become a platform for opinions rather than the art that it once was. These opinions find their way into fictional and unfortunately, non-fictional work. It used to be that fictional writers wove a tale that didn't have a platform but kept you on a journey with a destination that didn't reveal itself until the very end. Little Johnny was on an imaginary journey, not trying to convince every reader that it is ok for boys to wear pink. The best storytellers could weave a story with an ending that most did not see coming. Now, however fictional writers seem to infuse their opinions into the story, and the story becomes about their opinion instead of the mystical weaving of an interesting plot. But fictional work isn't the only writing that seems to be infused with the writer's opinions. Non-fictional work used to be about reporting of information, starting with old and ending with any newfound information. Now days, non-fictional writers infuse their unproven opinions as if they are history or fact, rather than opinions. Some non-fiction work attempts to rewrite their version of history rather than facts with footnotes depicting opinions. We have many writers that are sharing their thoughts and/or opinions on a regular basis. I understand that storytelling is subjective. At its core, storytelling is about opinions and grand thoughts. Unfortunately, I think for me, the disappointment comes when storytelling stops being about the grand tale and takes on the life of an opinion that I don't share. For me, storytelling has stopped being the reciting of first-hand knowledge or the weaving of a fantastical story but rather the soapbox that the writer wants others to agree with. Storytelling has become predictable and more times than not, is opiniated. That soapbox opinion takes me right back to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, which is not the storytelling that I was expecting. My writers heart hopes for a day that storytelling returns to an art and imagination is allowed to run free without opinions or agendas.