Tribalism Explained

By Marilyn M. Barnewall

News With Views

Jul 23, 2017

Words have meaning. How we interpret the words we hear and the words we use have consequences. Yet, few people spend time analyzing the real meaning of words we all say and hear.

What does the word fair mean? In the world of liberal progressives, “fair” means pitting one group of people against another group, demanding that one side deserves more “fairness” than the other because of… you name it (it can be any excuse).  Liberals think in terms of divide and conquer class warfare.  They create “victims” within the groups they attack. Which groups?

·      Rich vs. poor (or haves vs. have-nots)

·      Productive vs. non-productive

·      Taxpayers vs. non-taxpayers

·      Seniors vs. youth

·      Victims vs. criminals

·      Healthy vs. unhealthy

·      Race vs. race (white vs. black, brown vs. black, white vs. brown, brown vs. yellow, black vs. everyone to protect victim status, etc.)

·      Male vs. female

·      Female vs. male

·      Gay and lesbian vs. straight

·      People of faith vs. non-believers and members of other faiths:

·      Catholics vs. Protestants

·      Mormons vs. all traditional Christian religions

·      Christians vs. Jews

·      Christian vs. Muslims

·      Muslims vs. Jews

·      Muslims vs.Christians

·      Pro-life vs. pro-choice

·      Pro-Second Amendment vs. Opposition to Gun Ownership

·      And on and on and on…

It is a very long list.  When you hear members of various media outlets say the words “identity politics,” that is what the words mean:  Identifying people with a group or gang – or, tribe rather than as individuals.   The media usually does not use these words.

Regardless, they accurately define the tribal wars that liberal progressives use to gain and keep power.

The objective is to throw as many daily crises on your plate as possible so that intellectual chaos results.  That is a major purpose of identity politics.

Why do liberals want your intellect to be chaotic?  Because it is hard for the mind to reason in the midst of chaos.  When you aren’t reasoning, you  miss what’s going on behind the curtain the Wiz tries so hard to keep closed.  The best way to cover up major events and unspeakable objectives (from the overthrow of the American government to world government to being nuked by North Korea) is to prevent you from viewing your world and what is really happening in it through a logical lens.  In short, it’s the way they hide what they’re really doing.  If they can make you fearful, they win the game.  That’s why the Russia thing will remain at the top of the media’s chaos list for as long as they can milk it.

If having the above as the platform for one of your two political parties doesn’t frighten you, it should.

What “they” are doing is strongly motivating people to become part of a group… or, better said, a tribe.  This is how you achieve tribalism.  It is the most dangerous psychological ops game the Deep Statists have played thus far.

Tribalism was well-explained by Ayn Rand in numerous publications and you can find good overviews of it at the Atlas Society web site.  I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the information they provide.  The Rand philosophy says “To live, man must hold three things as the supreme and ruling values of his life:  Reason—Purpose – Self-esteem.”  Reason and self-esteem rely on your ability to think logically.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines tribalism as:  “Tribal consciousness and loyalty; especially exaltation of the tribe above other groups.”

That describes perfectly what is going on at the University of California Berkeley (and everywhere else in America) when they reject speakers who bring logical and well documented arguments to stimulate thought about solving problems.

After UC Berkeley students succeed at rejecting speakers, they suffer terrible tension placed on them by the thought of having someone say something with which they disagree.  To east the stress, they protest – if you call protest breaking the windows of small, independent businesses belonging to people who have worked hard most of their lives to succeed and build that shop.  So much for the value of what the University of California teaches.

The same is true of the increased hostility between races, especially during the eight year term of Barack Obama.  When Attorney General Eric Holder ignored the threats made outside of a polling place when white voters were threatened by black militants carrying signs and slapping batons in their hands outside of the place the people were going to vote was a very dangerous form of tribalism.

“These men are part of my tribe and I, an elected official who took an Oath to uphold the Constitution and to represent all people when enforcing the law, place my tribe’s importance above your tribe and hereby tell you that any Oath I take is worthless.  Thus, don’t trust me because my tribe comes before honor. ”

Tribalism is what Barack Obama did when he took sides with black Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates in Cambridge, Massachusetts in a dispute with a police officer (whose behavior was proven right).  Ferguson, MO was tribalism.  The riots in the streets of Ferguson and Baltimore were declarations of tribal power.  These are all perfect examples of tribalism.

These examples prove tribalism is a very dangerous thing and is not a toy for idiot politicians to use to engender emotional responses that gain votes.  Idiots?  Anyone who plays with fire is an idiot.

President Trump is absolutely correct in placing America First to restore sanity and social order.  From the crime waves caused by Chicago gangs (gangs are tribes) to American youth deciding they want to join ISIS, most of the violence we see around the world today represents some form of tribalism.

Tribalism is widespread and if President Trump can survive the Deep State and Swamp attacks against him and his policies which are designed to destroy tribalism in this nation, we will be fortunate, indeed, because it is the fastest way to return all of us to the cave and a social order based on survival of the fittest.

Whether it’s the Crypts or the Bloods or the more recent MS-13 being diligently pursued by the Department of Justice, all of it screams “My tribe is bigger, better and stronger than yours!”  Like dogs pee on trees to establish their territory, so, too, do gangs pee on (or shoot or knife) their opponents for what?  The same reasons: perceived territory, superiority and proof of the power of the tribe.

Most wars are an example of tribalism… e.g., in the Middle East, most of the fighting is between Sunni and Shia Muslim tribes.  The Czechs have pulled apart from Slovakia and the Kurds want independence from Iraq.  Many Scots want sovereignty… they no longer want to be part of the United Kingdom.  Great Britain had its Brexit moment last year and currently prepares to return to the British tribe and depart the European Union.

As Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, liberal progressive Robert Reich who is currently the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, says on his blog, “Before the rise of the nation-state, between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, the world was mostly tribal.  Tribes were united by language, religion, blood and belief.”

Reich correctly points out that “Nations are becoming less relevant in a world where everyone and everything is interconnected.  The connections that matter most are again becoming more personal.  Religious beliefs and affiliations, the nuances of one’s own language and culture, the daily realities of class, and the extensions of one’s family and its values – all are providing people with even greater senses of identity.”

The first sentence of the above quote explains why liberal progressives want open borders and believe a wall to keep America a safe, sovereign nation is evil.  They want everything interconnected… how else can you have a world government?  It is why the liberal progressive tribe is so filled with hatred for President Donald J. Trump who opposes tribalism and supports individualism… and a fence at our border.

Note how the sentence beginning with “Religious beliefs…” views each person as part of a group rather than as an individual… another major part of the liberal progressive philosophy.  People thinking as individuals cannot be controlled; group think can be controlled.  Thus, people as individuals are dangerous to the liberal progressive cause.

If “they” can divide us into small groups rather than Americans standing shoulder- to-shoulder regardless of race or religion, demanding our Constitutional rights and freedoms, they can beat us down (as they have the Europeans) and remove our national pride, our sense of sovereignty as Americans, and all of the other things that make us unique in the world – at least once the swamp is cleaned we will once again be unique.

Reich made a couple of interesting comments on his blog.

“Each tribe is headed by rival warlord whose fighting has almost brought the national government in Washington to a halt.  Increasingly, the two tribes live separately in their own regions – blue or red state, coastal or mid-section, urban or rural – with state or local governments reflecting their contrasting values.”

“I’m not making a claim of moral equivalence.  Personally, I think the Republican right has gone off the deep end, and if polls are to be believed, a majority of Americans agree with me.”  … Robert Reich

Well, Professor Reich, the polls – and you – were not to be believed.  Otherwise, we’d be calling our President “Clinton” rather than “Trump.”

I have to ask this question:  How honest is a man who will make this statement after the Republicans control both chambers in 32 states, including 17 with veto-proof majorities. Those 32 states cover 61 percent of the U.S. population.

Democrats, meanwhile, control legislatures in 13 states, amounting to 28 percent of the country’s population.  Republicans now control governor’s offices in 33 states — those states make up 60 percent of the population.  Democrats control 16 states that have 40 percent of the population.  This statistic is particularly important when viewed from the perspective that in 2009 the Democrats held two-thirds of the governorships… a 50 percent decrease in political power in just 7 years.  So how can an intellectually honest person say the Republicans are the ones who have gone off the deep end?  Answer:  An honest person cannot.

The Democrats also lost their majority in Congress over the past six years, both the House and the Senate.  Now they have lost the Presidency — and the Republicans are the ones who have gone off the deep end?  Please!

Keep your eyes open for examples of tribalism because wherever it is being implemented it is dangerous… you might particularly want to watch your public schools (including universities).

At no time has it ever been more important for Americans to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, united as citizens of this great nation.  After accepting that our country comes first and every citizen of this nation is important to me (if I want to remain free), we can, like any family, have our disagreements and still belong to any group or tribe we want.

© 2017 Marilyn M. Barnewall – All Rights Reserved