Tribalism
- theangryactuary
- Sep 11, 2023
- 3 min read
It’s time to talk about something that really ticks me off. Tribalism. No, not just your regular sports fandom, but the kind that lets our worst biases as human beings take over. It infects our intellect and at times, instead of allowing us to assess an issue or situation factually, turns our intellect into a weapon to look for justifications for beliefs we know to be wrong, but that we just don’t stop to truly consider.
These are some examples of tribalism that make no sense:
Politics:
Ok, the subject you should never bring up at the dinner table or on a first date. In countries like the United States of America, tribalism is getting to the point now where neither side is even able to consider the other’s point of view and to listen to any cogent arguments or concerns. I’m not going to bring up any specific issues as any example cannot be properly explored in a short blog post.
Look at how fake news on social media platforms took hold of so many without actually being backed up by fact. Tribalism made supporters on either side of the political spectrum trust an unverified post because they already had a preconceived judgement on any issue. So any story that supported their side of the political spectrum was taken as true and vice versa for any story that put slings mud at the opposition.
Before believing any story, stop and question whether the facts are correct. Stop your knee-jerk judgement and really stop to think about an issue from multiple perspectives and put yourself in the shoes of the people at the center of the story. What would you do, if you were in that situation. Key word, use empathy. Look it up.
Race:
Definitely something that continues to hold back the world on multiple levels. No one nation is innocent of tribalism, or as we call it, nationalism. Not enough of us look at humanity as a whole as the only true tribe. We seek to divide and seek out our differences and that is pathetic. I’ve seen so many individuals who are not proud of their own achievements (sometimes because they really don’t have any). But to protect their precious ego, they will resort to nationalism, assuming that if their tribe is successful, then that success also applies to them. It’s pathetic because any individual’s achievements should not be attributed to a tribe, but to the individual.
Humanity will only advance when we realize that every human life has value, and that we need seek policies that will help each individual maximize their potential and contribution to society. Recognizing that we are part of the human tribe is the first step.
Family:
Probably the smallest tribe anyone would be part of. This is where nepotism breeds and holds back society more than just about any other ailment. We’ve all seen examples of people who are given opportunities because they have a family member in a senior position in the company. We’ve all seen a summer intern join a company just because their uncle is senior in the ranks. What happened to competitive internships with an actual interview process?
There are some cultures in the world that have an expectation for the individual who succeed’s to then favour the wider family. As a result, government jobs and lucrative contracts are then handed out to family and friends. I won’t name any countries but you can probably guess where they are, have a look at the Corruptions perception index.
I’ve vented about the multiple forms of tribalism we see today. But it’s up to each of us as individuals to change the situation. Think about your own unconscious biases and look to improve from within. Maybe the link below is a good place to start.
Links:
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