OK, so what to DO about tribalism?
I believe that the best way to foster discussions across these social-political "tribes" (see the October 14 post about the FREE conference) is not to tear down the existing tribes and stamp out desires for tribalism. That just wouldn't work. But why don't we encourage participation in new tribes that cross the old tribal boundaries?
Living in a very small town, I do this a lot. There simply aren't enough overeducated outdoorsy microbrew-drinking Red Sox fans who write. I end up drinking microbrews, playing basketball or softball, watching Red Sox games, or hiking or skiing with all sorts of people who differ from me in educational background, economic class, or politics. Sometimes we venture into discussions of politics; sometimes those ventures are uncomfortable.
But at least I learn what the "other side" is thinking. I understand people's fears about wolf reintroduction (which continue ten years later), though I continue to believe that step was, in the long run, good for both ecosystems and humans. I understand criticisms of large government programs, though in many cases I still think they're the best available options to address serious social ills. I understand that both left and right think the mainstream media is biased – though in most cases I think those complaints are overblown.
The funny thing about the tribalism conference was that the participants ourselves were all of a tribe – the tribe of people who like to have intellectual discussions about how people's tendency toward tribalism is detrimental to democracy. If we could only break out of our tribe, we might find the picture is not so grim.
What do YOU think? Drop a line to info@johnclaytonbooks.com. To receive these posts via email, write to johnclaytonoutreach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. (You need not put any text in the message.)
Living in a very small town, I do this a lot. There simply aren't enough overeducated outdoorsy microbrew-drinking Red Sox fans who write. I end up drinking microbrews, playing basketball or softball, watching Red Sox games, or hiking or skiing with all sorts of people who differ from me in educational background, economic class, or politics. Sometimes we venture into discussions of politics; sometimes those ventures are uncomfortable.
But at least I learn what the "other side" is thinking. I understand people's fears about wolf reintroduction (which continue ten years later), though I continue to believe that step was, in the long run, good for both ecosystems and humans. I understand criticisms of large government programs, though in many cases I still think they're the best available options to address serious social ills. I understand that both left and right think the mainstream media is biased – though in most cases I think those complaints are overblown.
The funny thing about the tribalism conference was that the participants ourselves were all of a tribe – the tribe of people who like to have intellectual discussions about how people's tendency toward tribalism is detrimental to democracy. If we could only break out of our tribe, we might find the picture is not so grim.
What do YOU think? Drop a line to info@johnclaytonbooks.com. To receive these posts via email, write to johnclaytonoutreach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. (You need not put any text in the message.)
