This just in: If I had to pick a single issue that is damaging us as individuals, as a country, or as a world, it would not be wars or pollution, or the economy. It would be tribalism.

Tribalism is the root of all fear, of all conflict and of all hate.

Tribalism refers to belonging to a group. I am American. I am white. I am male. These are all examples of groups that I belong to. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with this.

I grew up in Wasco, Ca, a small town of about 7,500 people. This town had two elementary schools; Carl Clemons and Palm Avenue. For some reason, we kids at Palm Avenue viewed the kids from Carl Clemons, most of whom we’d never met, as “from the wrong side of the tracks.” They were inferior. They were poor. They we not as good as us. I don’t recall being taught this but the rivalry was real.

There was only one middle school so in 6th grade when I was 12, the two groups merged into one. I was surprised to find that the other kids were just like me. There were no differences. After a few weeks of school, who came from which elementary school was unimportant and often forgotten.

Then came high school. Our rivals were the nearest small town which happened to be Shafter. We viewed them in much the same way as I viewed Carl Clemons. We even had a Shafter Day where everyone would dress up as poor people, pretending, once again, the “others we not our equal.”

College was a little different. I went to the Naval Academy where our rival was the Military Academy at West Point. All day long, you could hear the freshmen, Plebes, shouting, “Go Navy. Beat Army.” We always knew the number of days until the Big Army-Navy game. However, at the end of the game, both teams came together as one. We knew the rivalry was fun but we also knew we were all on the same team.

Rivalries are fun. They gives us a reason to watch the game; to cheer for one team over another. But they are just for fun.

Unless, you forget that they are not…just for fun.

As adults, if we are not careful, we will fall into the Tribalism Trap. And, it’s not like there is just one trap. White tribes against non-white tribes. Asians against Europeans. This religion against that other on. Republicans against Democrats.

None of these tribes are real beyond the space we give them in our heads. When people of different tribes intermingle, the boundaries go away. We find out that the “others” are not evil or less worthy. We become one.

What put this topic in my head was the recent election for a senator in Georgia. Hershel Walker was possibly the most unqualified candidate for any national office. Moral, intellectually, experientially, on every measure one could think of, he was grossly unfit. Yet, he got nearly half of the state to vote for him. Why? He belonged to the Republican tribe. Had he been in the Democrat tribe, we would have seen the same thing happen.

If we want to get along. If we want to solve issues like racism, poverty, or immigration, we will need to all get on the same team.

Tribalism prevents that from happening.

What to do about this? I don’t know. I can only work on myself and that is a full-time job.

But, I think it’s important to notice.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim