Why is America stuck in a Tribal state?

The cause of America’s tribalism is simple, if you think about it. Groups of Americans have become uncomfortable with the direction of our society, and have reverted to a tribal mentality. Tribes offer safety because they are smaller groups of like minded people.

The details explaining our tribalism are complicated and need some discussion to help understand them.

Tribalism is possible because the political morality of the Right and Left are different. People on the Left concern themselves with groups and their status. They see capitalism as unfair because it leads to poverty and inequality. Their efforts in the political seek to expand the welfare state with programs that will solve the major problems of society. People on the Right are concerned with liberty. They see man’s opportunity to succeed in the world as dependent a government that focuses on individualism and reward for hard work. To the Right, big government and welfare state programs destroy liberty through asset transfers. Expansion of the welfare state requires increased taxation, so the monetary assets of the public are transferred to government. That transfer might be legitimized if the results showed that the funded programs were effective. More often than not, they show them to be ineffective.

The personality of the Left is driven by the desire for change; a restless discomfort with the status quo and a feeling that change is normal and will make things better. The personality of the Right is driven by resistance to change and an attraction to traditions. The Right believes that traditions are the foundations for the advancement of society and dictate how much change is reasonable.

There are four major factors that push us into tribalism: changes in society, grievances of identity groups, postmodern communications, and a corrupted media.

1. The last forty years has seen enormous change to the American cultural landscape. The family has changed in character and definition, people have become less religious, and are now too busy to socialize. This is discomforting to the Right because its too much change too fast and represents a tearing down of important traditions that act to the benefit of mankind.

2. Our society has become divided by identity and lost the ability to come together as Americans. Identity groups, who have grievances, work to correct them but, even when progress is made, remain separated from the whole.

3. During the last two decades, technology has overwhelmed us. Instant communication has made us all feel that the world is moving faster. We feel pressure to live in the instant. That pressure is unsettling.

4. The traditional media has to compete with the internet for audience share, and has corrupted itself in the process. Because the internet has no filter, the most awful ideas are presented and hyped there. Every idiot has a platform. The traditional media could take the high road and provide a rational alternative, but instead chose to participate in the same game. The presentation and discussion of extreme political positions creates a misleading picture of reality to the public, while ignoring the good stories and the fundamental fairness of the American people. The artificial world presented is depressing.

The political parties are polarized because the American people are polarized. The moderate senators and Congressmen who used to populate the Congress are gone, so all that remains are the extremes. Moreover, each of the parties is fractured by ideological arguments. Democrats fight themselves over how far to the Left they should be; liberal or socialist? The Right fights itself over fiscal responsibility and the politicization of traditional values. The divide between them will not be fixed unless the American people tell the Congress to get their house in order.

How will American tribalism resolve itself? The short answer is that it will abate when the opposing tribes realize their lack of communication is not healthy and stands in the way of progress; when progress and unity start to mean more than stagnation and enmity.

Conservatives will continue to advocate for traditions and their will always be conservatives to do that. The Left, which contains many who believe in the American ideal, needs to separate itself from the radical Left and show its willingness to communicate with the Right. The identity groups need to see themselves as Americans rather than merely human beings with a set of personal characteristics.

We all need to slow down. The idea that human life must be lived through a cell phone is an absurdity that belittles the capacity we all have to make the world a better place.