Humans love to build fences and walls. We make everything “Us vs. Them”; Religion, Gender, Nationality, Politics, Race, Age, even Sports Teams. It must be part of our early training, our indoctrination, a toxic belief that takes up residence and never leaves. It is understandable I suppose, as evolution has historically occurred in small groups, clans or tribes. However, as we evolved beyond “Clan of the Cave Bear” and have built great cities and developed new, more inclusive ways of thinking and acting, the “Us vs. Them” tribal mentality has been transformed into an “Us vs. Us” paradigm. We are retarding the evolution of mankind by holding on to dangerous, dogmatic beliefs that leave our society reeling from wars and hatred. This toxic tribalism sets in motion a process of degeneration as opposed to evolution. People with this mindset are dying, not growing. Evolution looks like sharing, collaborating and partnering to design better outcomes together.
“The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” — Thomas Paine
Just as we reached the apex of our civilization, tribalism which served humanity in it’s infancy well enough, started taking on a more toxic nature and evolution stalled. People got angry, bitter and resentful towards those outside of their tribe. I have given some thought to about when this actually started happening and concluded somewhere in the late 60’s or early 70’s. The jet airliner became a common form of travel about then, making the world a smaller place. We were becoming a grander more inclusive society – a Global Tribe. Yet in all that time since, we have seen little change in the design and efficiency of these aircraft. The automobile follows a similar trend, with the Model T being mass produced in 1913 and getting about 25 miles to the gallon and here we are, over a hundred years later and still get about the same fuel efficiency. So we go from horses, buggies and streets full of horse shit, to realizing the freedom of global travel and putting a man on the moon, (1969) in a short 50 years, but in the 50 years since we have seen no significant change and a less inclusive global society – something is awry.
So the late 60’s and early 70’s looks to be the apex of our evolution and we have struggled since then, perhaps we need to bring back the Beetles and the Monkees. Two terms that smell a lot like toxic tribalism came on the scene around this same time. The term Groupthink was first introduced by Irving Janis in a 1971 Psychology Today article. Groupthink occurs when a group of well-intentioned people make irrational decisions when the urge to conform wins over rational thinking. In the interest of making a decision that furthers their group cause, members may ignore ethical or moral consequences. Groupthink fosters a strong “Us vs. Them” mentality that prompts members to accept group perspectives in the heat of the moment. When the group identity is threatened, groupthink decision-making can be rushed and destructive – The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster is a classic example.
Deadly Serious
Politically Correct is the other term. The name originated as a joke, in a comic strip and we still tend to not take it seriously, but it is very serious. The great disease of this century, it has left millions of people dead in Europe, Russia, China and around the world. It is the disease of ideology, it is not funny, in fact it is deadly serious. Take a closer look and it becomes obvious, Political Correctness is cultural Marxism, an effort that goes back not to the 1960s, but to World War I. Compare the tenets of Political Correctness with classical Marxism, the parallels are quite obvious, both are totalitarian ideologies. College campuses are a classic example, like small ivy covered North Koreas, where the student or faculty member who dares to cross the lines set up by any of the sainted “victims” groups that Political Correctness revolves around, quickly find themselves in serious trouble, facing formal charges and punishment. A brief look into the future that Political Correctness intends for all of us.
Tribalism, Collectivism or whatever name you want to give it needs to be neutralized if we are to succeed in our journey, our mission, our evolution. I believe the cognitive dissonance created by the predominant collective prattle, generated by institutions of higher learning, governments and media conglomerates, to quash individualism during this time period was the leading cause of our evolution being retarded. Of course I could be wrong, it may be that we are just in a consolidation period for a time, maybe we just need a breather. Though to me it feels more like we are on the precipice and in great peril. The choice is ours, we can embrace our individualism, we can imagine and create a brighter future, leap from the precipice and soar to new heights through the sharing and collaboration of independent ideas. Or we can continue down the path of toxic tribalism towards the fate of collectivist, totalitarian regimes that have come before; Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot, among others. Leading to a fall from the precipice into a deep, dark future with the power to cripple mankind for a very long time, perhaps forever.
Freedom – Just Another Word
It was individual freedom, individual thought, individual ideas and the sharing of those ideas that powered the rapid advancement of our society to it’s apex. The most powerful period in human evolution occurred after the the U.S Constitution and Bill of Rights were framed. The Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution. These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well, influencing the French Revolution. The Bill of Rights protects the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. The Bill of Rights also prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. It may not have been a perfect document but it was the key I believe to the rapid evolution of our species and as we have strayed from the individual rights and freedoms framed by the declaration our societies have started degenerating instead of evolving.
“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
We need to recognize that there is no them, only us – one tribe. A big, messy, gooey, eclectic stew pot of humanity. A strike against the rights and freedoms of any perceived enemy is a strike against ourselves. Individuals and individual thought create the most width and depth, the optimum environment, providing the best chance of continued evolution, whereas toxic tribalism creates death and degeneration. We need to wake up to the truth, before the collectivist, tribal mentality destroys Us. No price is too high – mankind is relying on you.