Of the many noteworthy lines in President Obama's Inaugural speech, here's one that especially struck me: "We cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."
The President was speaking of America's history as a multicultural nation, laying out our unity as an example for the world. He was offering e pluribus unum as it had originally been intended: not merely as a historical fact, but as a model for future human governance.
As most Americans heard today, he preceded his "lines of tribe" comment with this: "... we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united ..."
For those who think this kind of rhetoric is a platitude, a no-brainer, "Mom and apple pie," think again: The rhetoric of tribe is being used today in every corner of the planet to divide, conquer, and destroy. Tribalism is the curse that can destroy humanity. So far, the 21st Century has been no better than the century before it in terms of our ability to overcome our heritage of tribal division.
Consider this Kenyan commentary, written as Obama won the Democratic nomination in June of last year:
"I am finding it very difficult to join in the jubilation about Senator Barack Obama. Not that I want to deny the man his victory, but my impulse to celebrate keeps deflating on the idea that the best thing that happened to little Barack was not growing up in Kenya ... If he had grown up here, and had he somehow managed to retain most elements of his current self, he would have been another outstanding, intelligent and competent Luo man in our midst:And he would have been killed.
... after all, when we had that incredibly good-looking and charismatic home-grown hero, Tom Mboya, we shot him to death. And when that austerely intellectual and elegant leader, Robert Ouko, threatened to look overly intelligent to the world, we killed him too. We killed Pio Gama Pinto and we killed JM Kariuki ... When Wangari Maathai is abroad, we feel that her Nobel Prize is partly represented in each of our Kenyan living rooms; when she comes home, she is just another Kikuyu politico ..."
These words come from a bitterly disappointed writer, someone whose heart has been broken by tribal warfare and corruption. That's how Obama, the Obama that would have been had he grown up in Kenya, appeared in his eyes: as just another promising young half-Luo facing violent death.
But tribalism isn't just a Third World problem. For 144 years we've been spared the violence of civil war and received the grace of life in a peaceful civil society. But we're not as different as we like to think. There are tribal ruptures here, too. I've seen it in my own life as the child of two religious heritages. Too often we use belief (and, as the President observes, non-belief) to divide us - whether it's by viewing wars and occupations through sectarian lenses, or by using "Phone Books" that help us to do business only with those of our own faith.
Sure, it's political rhetoric to speak of finding unity and strength in our diversity as "Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers." But how often in the past ten years have we used these differences in a tribal way to divide and conquer, electorally and socially? We saw that happen in national politics over the course of many elections, and again this year in California with the passage of Proposition 8.
Constitution-loving Americans have waited years for a President who will say this: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals .... Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake." But it's the call against tribalism that rings in my ears tonight. If humanity is to survive, those lines of tribalism must dissolve.
It's human nature to have communities of affinity as well as communities as geography. Those communities can be based on common history, shared interests, or a mutual wellspring of dreams, hopes, and faith. There is a complex balance to be struck between respect for cultural differences and devotion to our common destiny. Finding that balance can be the work of lifetimes.
It won't be easy. Tribal divisions have to be recognized, not just dismissed. We've failed to understand and acknowledge tribal issues in making military and foreign policy decisions, to our own detriment and the world's. We'll need to understand these forces better if we are to forge that "hard-earned peace" the President spoke of in Afghanistan.
If we have the national will, however, improved intelligence and improved diplomacy can be put to a higher purpose: the goal of building a common human future by reducing sectarian division.
RJ Eskow blogs when he can at:
And, generally, people become more tribal and territorial too survive, regardless of which group they belong to, Democratic, liberal, Republican, etc.
The psychological barriers usually only come down when man gets religion, for personal reasons, not to gain social status in the tribe..
Quite frankley, I am so sick of it all I could scream.
Maybe the left is starting to see just how inane all of this has become.
Compare and contrast with the Gospel on Pentecost where
the Apostles start speaking in different languages because of
gifts given by The Holy Spirit.
The argument "but the bible says...." is the ultimate statement of cognitive dissonance - the bible also says you should stone your own mother to death for wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (Lev 24:10-16) and sanctions selling your own daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7)
The bible also recommends owning slaves yourself as long as they come from a neighboring country (Lev. 25:44). And declares that eating shellfish is a greater abomination than homosexuality (Lev 11:10).
And no, without religion people will not feel free to run amok doing horrific things. People do far more horrific things to each other in the name of their god than not. Organized religion does not create saintly behavior, nor does is quell evil.
There are bad people on this planet just as there are good. Morality and decency is more of a natural evolutionary trait than we know. There is a natural incentive to do good by one another that is not bible-bound.
If raised in a vibrant positive environment by an open strong community, they will exhibit more morality than any bible thumping Ted Haggard - Organized religion is an awful abuse of our shared spiritual reality.
The right approach, in my estimation, is to see the person as they are... including race... but not to prejudge them by what you think you may know about that particular race. I find it insulting that people would deny me my "blackness" or my "womanhood"... it's like they are saying (w/out trying to say) that there is something inherently wrong w/ being black and/or a woman.... so they would rather pretend it's not there.... that I'm some amorphous being. Being Black and a woman has a lot to do w/ my life experiences... those things... along w/ my education and upbringing... that make me me. I admit... it's a fine line to walk... and it probably won't be easy... or done anytime soon.
If a Chinese person took you to task for not recognizing their specfic ethnicity, or in your words what makes me, me. I'm pretty sure you would say well, I didn't know and I meant no offense. However in your defense one could say that you were just seeing them as human beings regardless of their physical features.
Race is a social concept based on mysticism
I rather think it may not be important.
And then I would try to find out what it is that I didn't know and possibly learn how to recognize what I missed so that I didn't do it again. But that's just me.
But I think you're getting too specific. You don't have to know what part of Africa I'm from to see that I'm black. Just like I wouldn't have to know what part (or tribe) of China person came from to know they are Chinese. I don't even have to know what specific country a person is from to know they are Asian (which would be the proper equivalent to African). My point is I (and others) should respect a person and still see their race/ethnicity. I shouldn't have to disregard their race in order to see them equally.
People can say, I'm a Black or African American, White American, Hispanic American Irish American and even Gay American.
Sure, I understand what that means...but....
I wonder if it doesn't fragment us?
I believe that we have our own "Tribe"
We are, AMERICANS Right?
"It's human nature to have communities of affinity as well as communities as geography. Those communities can be based on common history, shared interests, or a mutual wellspring of dreams, hopes, and faith. There is a complex balance to be struck between respect for cultural differences and devotion to our common destiny. Finding that balance can be the work of lifetimes."
It's worth noting here that Native Americans were forming the Iroquois Confederacy and other democratic multi-state initiatives while Europeans were still firing blunderbusses at one another. They had learned to work together - while respecting tribal differences - centuries before the League of Nations or the UN. We have much to learn from this experience.
Here's a hell of a thing: When I saw the words "the President" I cringed inwardly. I felt a purely Pavlovian revulsion, and it was an almost visceral sensation. Then the higher centers of my brain kicked in, and I remembered that those words refer to Barack Obama now. I believe I've mostly read the phrase "President Obama" since yesterday. Those are two beautiful words, in part because there is only one man they can refer to.
"The President" for a fraction of a second made me feel ill. I bet I'm not alone. But what a strange feeling. What a curious realization on a Wednesday morning. The corruption Bush and Cheney brought to everything they touched extends to the most casual description of our highest office. Not the worst of their offenses, certainly. But one hell of an indication of... something.
Obama will come up with specifics. He has only been President for less than 24 hrs!!! Obama faces problems far greater than anything Bush had to. Obama also walks the walk.