The Tribal Instinct and the Yearning to Belong

By Anthony T. Cluff

Why do large numbers of people meet in St. Peter's Square every year to celebrate Mass on Easter Sunday?

What accounts for the controversy about the refusal of a high-profile sports figure to stand for the national anthem at each of his team's games?

Why did the members of a large religious community commit suicide at the direction of their maniacal leader?

How do warriors rationalize going into battle in the face of possibly being severely injured or killed?

What is the role of followers and supporters in the ability of some people to engage in dangerous or life-threatening activities?

Why do groups of strangers join in celebrations that can last for days when they seemingly have little in common?

What accounts for people attending fashion shows, auto races, or conventions about extraterrestrial visitations?

Why do members of a major religion meet in the desert sands of Arabia to encircle and pay homage to a sacred stone?

What is it that celebrities do to make us believe they have special or mystical powers beyond that of normal humans?

And why was Hillary Clinton only partly right when she said it takes a village to raise a child?

Anthony T. Cluff provides an eye-opening examination of the common thread running through all of this in his latest book, The Tribal Instinct and the Yearning to Belong. It offers a new look at tribalism and the role it plays in our lives. We make a mistake, Cluff argues, when we consider tribalism to be all bad. It's not and it can operate in many ways to our advantage. Our primitive ancestors found that out the hard way. We need to find out the same thing today if we are to survive as a species. And Cluff cautions us against blindly going along with the crowd to fulfill the demands of this important and powerful instinct.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9780990534099

Book preview

Introduction

I believe we are tribal beings. It’s not just some of us, but all of us. And I believe we behave tribally in almost everything we do or say. And not just some of the time, but almost all the time, or at least those times when it matters most. We can’t help ourselves. It’s part of who we are.

I originally intended this to be a book about politics. My career had been centered around politics in one way or another in Washington D.C. for nearly half a century. I spent some of my time working for the government. I spent the rest of the time outside the government. Because Washington is a one-company town, the skill sets were pretty much the same. I knew how to find my way around the halls of Congress. I knew the federal agencies that were important and those that were not. And I knew which TV cable channels to avoid because they spread disinformation. It was a jungle out there, but I managed to work my way through it and come out the other side unscathed. I was now ready to explain to the world how it all worked.

The Presidential election of 2016 was to be the perfect focus for my book. It was ripe for the picking, and I considered myself capable enough to get the low-hanging fruit. Fortunately, it turned out to be one of the most interesting Presidential elections in U.S. history. It also turned out to be one of the most bizarre. But the Presidential election that year wasn’t just bizarre. It was brutal. While all elections are said to be hard fought, this one was an outright slugfest. In the end, it came down to one candidate who was a total outsider and not expected to win. The other candidate was an insider expecting to be coronated. The outcome was a shocker and called for an explanation. That’s what I would do.

I wanted to explain why anyone would want to put themselves through the pulverizing grind of our election process. It’s expensive. It’s time-consuming. At times it’s downright humiliating. I wondered who would pay all that money, spend all that time, and endure all the insults hurled at them just to become the most powerful person in the world and have a first-class seat on Air Force One. It made some sort of weird sense. But, I thought, there must be something more to it than that. I must be missing something, but I didn’t know what it was.

Over the years, I had come to see politics as a blood sport engaged in by people who have a messianic complex. They are out to save the world and don’t care if a few noses get bloodied along the way. To them, it’s a battle to the finish where the final body count determines the winner. I set out to explain this type of primitive and savage behavior. It was easy enough for me to describe our political behavior as having a primitive and savage edge to it. It’s there for all to see. But it was not so easy for me to explain why it must be that way. Almost everyone agrees that the country needs to be united, the citizens need to work together, and politicians need to find a compromise. Yet, all of that seems far beyond our grasp. And that made me wonder if there isn’t some obscure and unseen force at work that would explain why we behave in such primitive and savage ways politically.

If I were to find such a force at work in our politics, I needed to find something powerful enough to overcome our intentions to behave civilly. It would have to be something that explains why we engage in politics as if it were a matter of life and death. It would also have to be something of value to us that would explain why we engage in it with such passion. And if it were something of value to us, I would have to look back to see if it would have been a matter of long-standing interest to those who came before us. If so, it may have been something they relied on for survival. I found myself looking for some sort of survival mechanism our ancestors would have passed on to us. In that case, it would be more than a learned behavior. It would be instinctive. And just as our ancestors would have relied on this obscure and unseen force to survive in the distant past, it would be something we rely on to survive today. Once I saw this for what I believed it to be, I realized I would no longer be writing a book about politics. Instead, I would be writing a book about an obscure and unseen force I called the tribal instinct and the yearning to belong.

I became intrigued with the idea that we behave the way we do in politics because it’s bred into us. I wanted to see how far I could take that idea. To my surprise, it was much further than I expected. I should not really have been surprised. The concept of a political instinct fits comfortably within the science of inherited traits. It was something that would have added value to our ancestors in their ongoing struggle to survive. If it hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here. As with other human traits, such as walking upright, engaging in speech, and being addicted to our iPhones, it would have become embedded within us through the process of natural selection. Those who relied on it would have passed the trait on to their offspring. Those who did not would have been weeded out. Besides, the idea that we behave the way we do in politics instinctively was too good to pass up. It not only meant that all of us living today are related to each other, but we can trace our family tree back to ancestors who argued about politics all the time and still managed to survive. If this tribal instinct turned out to be as powerful as I began to think it could be, it might even outweigh other important traits of our ancestors in the natural selection process, such as body strength, swiftness of foot, and the ability to throw a spear. All the tribal instinct needed to do was make us be nice to the people around us.

I chose the word tribal to describe the instinct I have written about because there is something organized and tangible about it, as opposed to characterizing politics as something primitive and savage. Despite the bad rap tribalism gets, there is something a little more respectable about people behaving themselves when in groups. Besides, tribal behavior is not something new. It has long attracted the attention of philosophers, historians, and politicians as a subject of interest and debate. Some of them view it favorably. Many do not. It’s gained favor in recent years among politicians who accuse their opponents of behaving tribally. Nothing quite stings like being criticized for tribal behavior, unless it is being called a Neanderthal. For better or for worse, the concept of tribalism has had staying power, and if I am right, it’s at the very heart of the political process. It doesn’t feel like something we will be done with it anytime soon. The tribal instinct seems here to stay, and we best learn how to use it to our advantage.

Once I became convinced that our tribal ancestors engaged in politics the same way we do, I began wondering what else we do tribally. Surely, I thought, sports would be one. It’s just as brutal as politics. Religion too, I thought, must be tribal. It certainly is brutal at times. Then I wondered if tribal behavior needs to be a blood sport. I began seeing that it does not. It can be as sweet and innocent as a group of grandmothers gathering once a month for a quilting bee. Like so much else I could think of, it’s something people do together with others because they want to. And they want to because it makes sense to them. They like doing things with other people. Turns out that we need each other after all, for better or for worse. And I began to see this need to join others to get things done is deeply ingrained within us for all kinds of purposes, some of which I write about in this book.

Once I understood the tribal instinct for what it is, it was hard for me not to see it manifested all around me. It wasn’t always obvious because it appears in different forms, and I related to it in different ways. I just needed to know where to look and what to look for. I challenged myself to find as many instances of tribal behavior as I could in writing this book, and I was not disappointed. And I attempted to make the case that the tribal instinct is involved in each instance. But there are others. I have provided a short list of some below that are not included in my book. I think they show that the tribal instinct can be manifested in different ways, even though each involves an aspect of group behavior that is tribal in nature. They show humans joining with each other to get what they want but can’t get on their own, which is the imperative of the tribal instinct. Some of them do it of their own volition, others do it by following a leader, and in some instances, they do it just to go along with the crowd. The outcomes are not always the same, however. The tribal instinct and the yearning to belong can be fulfilled, challenged, or discarded. As this short list shows, some of the outcomes are good, and some are bad.

Tribal Unity in Religion. In an example of tribal unity in religion, an estimated 50,000 devout Catholics joined together at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on April 17, 2022, to hear Pope Francis celebrate mass on Easter Sunday.

Tribal Code in Sports. In a challenge to a long-standing tribal code in sports, San Francisco 49’er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, knelt during the 2016 NFL season rather than stand while the national anthem was being played as a protest to what he believed to be social injustices in America, a highly controversial move that split supporters and critics into opposing tribes.

Tribalism and Mass Hysteria. In keeping with the tribal instinct and yearning to belong, 900 members of what was known as the Peoples Temple, located in the jungles of Guyana, in South America, took their lives on November 18, 1978, in a mass suicide under the direction of their cultist tribal leader, Jim Jones.

Inter-Tribal Warfare. In an example of extreme inter-tribal warfare, Confederate and Union forces met during the Civil War on September 17, 1862, at Sharpsburg, Maryland, to engage in what is known today as the Battle of Antietam, the deadliest one-day military, tribal engagement in American history.

Going Along with the Crowd. Firewalkers can walk over a bed of burning coals in their bare feet without being injured in what is considered to be a personal display of mind over matter, but they are also beneficiaries of a strong tribal outpouring of psychological, mental, and psychic support from observers who applaud the practice and gather tribally to watch its performance.

Tribalism and Herd Mentality. On August 15-18, 1969, an estimated 400,000 people gathered on a dairy farm near Woodstock, New York, for what was originally billed as a Music and Art Fair, but which quickly became a tribal festival linking attendees who joined together in a display of tribal support of rock and roll, free love, and drugs.

Tribal Leadership. In an example of the role flexibility plays in tribal leadership, a medieval knight and warlord named Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (1043-1099), known to us as El Cid and who is acclaimed today as Spain’s national hero, served with not just one but two different tribal armies on Spain’s behalf, one being Christian, the other Muslim.

Tribal Gatherings. An alien convention is an example of a tribal meeting where attendees receive information, discuss matters of common interest and concern, and strengthen and reinforce their theories and beliefs, which in this case would be about extraterrestrial visitations to earth, ancient civilizations, and science fact and fiction.

Tribal Ritual. Each year millions of Muslims gather together in a sign of tribal unity to make a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of joining with others in the sacred and time-honored tribal ritual of encircling and walking around a large stone structure known as the Ka’aba (Cube) located at the center of the city’s Grand Mosque.

Tribal Bonds. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom became the only member country to withdraw from the European Union of 28 member countries for the purpose of protecting and enhancing its sovereignty as a separate national tribe with a different tribal background and identity from other European countries.

There, of course, are other examples that could have been included here. I have written about some of them in my book. One that isn’t there but deserves special mention is a book written by First Lady Hillary Clinton, published in 2006, entitled It Takes a Village. The book was important in raising awareness of the need for collective action in raising children in our society today. I agree, and I write about much the same here. I don’t believe, however, that the concept of societal responsibilities for village dwellers goes far enough. It ignores not only the much richer and more complex set of responsibilities we face but also the personal wants and needs we share with others. It’s not just about raising children, although that is part of it. It’s also about the other responsibilities and needs we face as humans. For better or for worse, it’s about responding to the imperatives of what I call the tribal instinct and the yearning to belong.

Chapter 1

The Tribal Instinct

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

—Helen Keller

Hillary Clinton was wrong. It doesn’t take a village. It takes a tribe. She, of course, was talking about raising a child. But, even when it comes to that narrow but important slice of human activity, a village doesn’t quite cut it. It takes more than that. It takes a tribe.

Not only does it take a tribe to raise a child but to do almost everything else we do. We are tribal, and we do things tribally. We live tribally. We eat tribally. We work, play, and think tribally. We engage in politics tribally. We worry about the fate of the earth tribally. We go to war, pray for peace, and procreate tribally. We even root for our favorite entertainers and sports teams tribally. We behave tribally when we join a Boy Scouts troop, attend Easter Mass, and suit up to ride with the Hell’s Angels. We are compelled to think and act tribally because it is deeply embedded in our genetic, historical, and cultural DNA. It is instinctive and impossible to ignore. It is an imperative that influences all that we are. Without it, we wouldn’t be, and we wouldn’t be who we are.

The tribal instinct in humans is all-encompassing. It’s the glue that binds us together and dictates the very structure of the societies in which we live. It determines how we live, where we live, and how well we live. It forces us to make decisions, act, and make plans. It decides political outcomes, shapes religious beliefs, and forms our cultural and societal mores. It creates the means for improving our lives but also the means for destroying them. It rewards groups of people who specialize, organize, and are loyal to the tribe. It demands that we lead or be led. It destroys old belief systems and creates new ones to take their place. It compels some, but not all, of us to love Prince, root for the New England Patriots, and join protest marches where women wear hats shaped like private female body parts.

A Means to an End

The tribal instinct is as primal, visceral, and raw as it sounds. It originated with the beginnings of life on our planet, long before humans came to be. It’s been creating a pathway forward for life to move along ever since. The tribal instinct is the embodiment of Charles Darwin’s natural selection, Adam Smith’s invisible hand of the marketplace, and Joseph Schumpeter’s cycles of creative destruction. It demands that we follow its dictates if life is to prevail and we are to survive. If we ignore our tribal instinct, life falters. If we listen to it, life thrives. The tribal instinct is neither good nor bad. It is a means to an end that can be either.

The tribal instinct was handed down to us from our ancestors. They survived a primitive and hostile world by following that instinct. It made them feel secure, enabled them to obtain the necessities of life, helped them raise their young, and assured the perpetuation of our species. It was better than going it alone in a tooth and claw world where life was tenuous and uncertain. There were real-world advantages to our ancestors living tribally. Had there not been, we wouldn’t be here. But even beyond that, the tribal instinct provided our ancestors with a sense of belonging, something bigger than themselves. It presented them with what we call today a sense of community. It manifested itself in yearnings that were the underpinnings of the physical and emotional support our ancestors needed for life to go on.

We have difficulty in our world today understanding the concept of the tribal instinct. That’s because we see ourselves far removed from the primitive environment our ancestors faced, where tribalism provided the key to survival and a sense of belonging. That was then, and this is now, we say. We’re much too civilized, we believe, to live by our instincts, especially one that traces its roots back to a more primitive time and place. Tribalism to us means being nasty, short, and brutish, which was fine back then, we tell ourselves. That was when our ancestors lived in caves, wore animal skins, and grunted a lot. To us, tribalism is a crude and uncivilized way to live. It is beneath us. If you act or think tribally today, you are out of date, out of touch, and out of your mind.

And yet, the tribal instinct remains alive and well among us. We just don’t recognize it in its present form. We don’t even know where to begin looking for it. And, if we should come across it, we dismiss it as being no longer important or relevant. But, the tribal instinct is real and still plays a role in our lives, and a major role at that. It is on display all around us. We just need to know where to look. And the place to start is how we react to external threats, the actions we take to survive, and the collective way we seek a place in the sun.

Our tribal Instinct reminds us that the world is a threatening place. It’s not the same threatening world our ancestors faced, but it is a threatening one, nonetheless. The tribal instinct makes us aware that we are vulnerable. And just as our ancestors once did when they were threatened, the tribal instinct forces us to deal with the risks we face. It does that by forcing us to join with others who are also at risk and who share with us a common interest in reducing, avoiding, and destroying the risks that are out there. Some threats are major. They’re matters of life and death. Others are more benign and more clubby and friendly than dire and hostile. In either case, the need for us to deal with them is real. We do it because the tribal instinct demands that we do it. We do it because it is the thing to do.

Eating the Zoo Animals

Consider for a moment how we would deal with a major catastrophe in which modern electrical systems are knocked out, the food supply chain is disrupted, and our sources of energy dry up. There’s no radio, no TV, no lights. Communication systems are down. The Internet goes dark. Pizza Hut can’t deliver pizza. Amazon can’t deliver anything. Uber is no longer transporting us anywhere. Food becomes scarce. Grocery store shelves are emptied. Heating and air conditioning systems no longer work. Gas to run our autos, trucks, and other vehicles becomes scarce, if not impossible, to find. Chaos reigns, and we are vulnerable. We feel detached from the outside world and all around us.

The first thing that we would instinctively realize is that we need to do something. We need to do anything that will allay our fears and save ourselves. Our survival depends on it. Our self-esteem requires it. Authorities would tell us that the problem is being addressed, that they hope to have it fixed soon, and that we should all remain calm. It’s the same reassuring advice they gave just before Katrina wiped out the Latin Quarter. It’s at this point that we instinctively look for the flashlight we remembered stuffing into one of the kitchen drawers at the height of last winter’s major snowstorm. If the problem is soon solved, that is one thing. But, if it is not and things remain the same or worsen over time, the situation becomes more threatening to our wellbeing, and we would look desperately for ways to deal with it. We might even be fortunate enough to find batteries for the flashlight if we ever managed to find the kitchen in the dark.

At this point, we would begin thinking that we could try to go it alone, lock the doors, bar the windows, and get out the guns. That might work for a while, but we would soon realize that is not the only option, or even a particularly good one. Even if we were able at first to keep the marauding hordes outside from breaking down the door, they would eventually break in, steal our food, and take all the women. We would have to find a better way.

Instinctively, we would recognize there is safety in numbers, and we would be better off joining with others who face the same threats we do. If things get bad enough and we start thinking about eating the zoo animals, we don’t want to be doing it alone. It would be in our instinctive best interest to be with those who share our concerns. It would be in our instinctive best interest to unite with them in a common cause. It would be in our instinctive best interest to deal with the threat the same way our ancestors did. It would be in our best interest to follow our instincts and become tribal. It would also be useful if we went to the zoo with people who know their way around it in the dark.

Not all threats are as serious as this. But, the instinct to become tribal is always the same in the face of a threat or a challenge, no matter how large or small. A global threat, such as that perceived to be from climate change, would force us to unite tribally as one world. The threat of an attack by another country or terrorists jihadi would force us to unite tribally as a nation, as happened briefly following the attacks of 9/11. Threats from within local communities would force us to unite tribally by forming neighborhood watch groups, petitioning for a greater police presence, and telling everyone to keep their porch lights on all night. Smaller and less consequential groups, such as the girl scouts, would also be forced to behave tribally in the face of a real or perceived threat. In their case, it might simply be the concern there won’t be enough funds for summer camp this year if they don’t sell a lot of Thin Mints. Even the Lone Ranger needs Tonto to ride by his side.

Divided We Fall

Tribalism is not going away. It’s here to stay, and it’s here to stay because it helps us keep what we have and get what we want—things we can’t get on our own. If we feel threatened by climate change, there is little we can do on our own to prevent it. We can’t singlehandedly put an end to air travel, convince everyone to buy an electric car, or stop cows from breaking wind. But by joining with others, we can put an end to air travel if all of us refused to fly, staged massive protests opposing higher gasoline taxes, and joined in a nationwide effort to replace Big Macs with burgers made of veggies. We may still want to keep the cows around, however, so we can enjoy an occasional grilled cheese sandwich. And, in doing all of this, we can take comfort in joining with others in a cause that is bigger than ourselves. We can feel safe with others joining us, and it’s comforting to know they want to be with us.

It’s the same when it comes to national security. One person is helpless in the face of a threat from a foreign entity, especially if it is a nation with nuclear capabilities, long-range missiles, and a deep-seated belief that God wants us dead. But, we stand a chance of dealing with such a threat by locking arms in support of an increase in defense spending, displaying a show of force around the world, and learning the words to all four verses to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. One person trying to do all that will be ignored, ridiculed, and shunned at Fourth of July picnics. That wouldn’t happen if all of us, or at least a majority of us, showed a little tribal muscle and staged a protest march on the White House lawn. National security issues also bring out strong feelings of patriotism within us and reinforce the belief that we have done the right thing by locking arms with our fellow citizens in a just cause. We just might want to stay outside the U.S. Capitol Building this time.

Joining with neighbors is also the most effective way for us to be successful in dealing with threats within local communities. Troublemakers may be tempted to bother a lone person walking around the neighborhood at night with a flashlight. They might even take the flashlight away and steal the batteries. One house with a porch light on all night is going to leave the rest of the neighborhood in the dark. Police are going to treat one person asking for more protection as a crank. It will be far more effective if we form teams for neighborhood watch, randomly flick our front porch lights off and on throughout the night, and tell the local precinct chief that we are going to buy up all the tickets to the policeman’s ball next year. Making certain our neighborhood is safe is a surefire way of making us feel good about belonging to, and working in groups will help.

Even the girl scouts are going to need to show a little muscle and work together as a group if they are to get what they want. One girl scout is not going to sell many cookies for summer camp. It’s going to take the whole troop showing up in front of the supermarket Saturday mornings, setting up the displays, cornering potential customers, and selling cookies with snappy names like Toffee-tastic and Samoas. It’s more than one girl scout can do on her own. Everyone in the troop is going to need to be out in force if they want to staunch the threat of a potential shortfall in the funding for Camp Wannacookie next summer. They can feel particularly good about what they are doing by selling lots of cookies, making a bunch of money, and keeping the chubby members of the troop from eating all the merchandise.

Whether the threat is global, national, local, or confined to a small group of girl scouts selling Thin Mints outside the supermarket on Saturday mornings, the nature of the challenge is the same. It is to keep what we have and get what we want. And what we want more than anything else in this world is to stay alive. And we want to feel good about doing all of that, which is something that is more achievable when we do it with others. We improve our odds of surviving and confirming that we are in the right by joining with others who share our interests and concerns. We are stronger in numbers on both counts. We are better off being a tribe than going it alone. For good or for ill, behaving tribally is how our ancestors survived. And because they did and made us who we are today, it is instinctive for us to do the same.

Drums in the Jungle

The tribal instinct makes us realize that we are vulnerable. We are at risk, just as those who came before were at risk. The risks have changed in many ways since then, but they remain fundamentally the same. The differences are in the specifics. And, whatever helps us to survive only confirms the belief that we are engaged in doing the right thing. If we are not, why are there so many of us doing it, we would ask.

Our ancestors were exposed to the risk of being eaten by wild animals, attacked by warring tribes, or being wiped by natural disasters. It is pretty much the same today. Wild animal attacks are rare today, but they can happen, like when parents lift their kids over the zoo fence for a photo with the tigers. But, like our ancestors, we face a potential threat from warring tribes. We call them terrorist groups, hostile nations, or the axis of evil. And we are still threatened by acts of nature. Back then, it was worldwide flooding. Today it’s global warming. Tomorrow who knows. Our vulnerability on all these fronts is a fact of life. It comes with living. Our response to that challenge is much the same as that of our ancestors. They learned of them by the rhythm of drumbeats in the jungle. We learn about them from the evening news or the Internet.

Our ancestors didn’t really have to give this too much thought. All they had to do was look around to see animals grouped in herds, prides, and gaggles. The animals did it for safety. They did it for hunting and scavenging. They did it to protect their offspring. They did it to assure the survival of their species. It was the same for primitive humans. Rather than going it on their own or in small family units, they joined with those who could help watch their back, ward off animal and human attacks, and shelter the young. Rather than hunting and foraging alone or in small family units, they improved their odds of surviving by organizing hunting parties and foraging in groups. And rather than being left to raise the young on their own, they had help.

Tribalism is nature’s way of giving us a reason for believing. It’s a golden rod that makes a man a king. It’s also a way of perpetuating our species, as well as that of countless other living creatures on this planet. It reduces our vulnerabilities and better equips us to deal with threats from the outside world. It enhances our ability to survive and pass on to succeeding generations the opportunity to do the same. You just have to hope the kids will support the same political party you do. Tribalism fulfills nature’s demand that all living things find a way for life to move forward, multiply, and replenish the earth. It is the natural selection process working to reward those who follow their tribal instinct as opposed to those who do not. It has been in place for eons, and it remains firmly in place today. It is how humans have survived on earth for as long as they have. It suggests the way for humans to behave to survive in the future. The tribal instinct fills the need we have to be linked with others in a common cause, whether it’s to sell more S’mores or avoid mutual mass destruction.

Well-known author and thinker Aldous Huxley put his finger on it when he said that most people identify themselves with causes that are within the range of current social values. It may be, said Huxley, as trivial as a hobby or as precious as married love. It can come about, he says, with any human activity, such as running a business to research in nuclear physics, from composing music to collecting stamps, from campaigning for political office to educating children or studying the mating habits of birds. And it’s of utmost importance, Huxley said, because, without a cause, there would be no art, no science, no law, no philosophy, indeed no civilization.¹

It Takes a Tribe

None of this is achievable by going it alone. It obviously takes more than one person to make a civilization. And it obviously requires us to be engaged with others. And that’s why Hillary Clinton was not totally wrong in believing that it takes a village. But, she came up short by failing to go outside the village gates. What’s involved here is a much larger concept than that of belonging to a village. A village is too confining. A village is a fixed or confined place on the map where people have gathered to live. Examples would be an Indian Village, a quaint village in New England, or a village of idiots. We picture a primitive village as a place where men in loin clothes walk around sharpening their spears, women spend the day grinding corn while suckling their young, and the old people chase bratty kids around with a switch. We need something more all-encompassing than this. We need to think of people joined together in sharing a common interest no matter where they are located. That takes more than a village. It takes a tribe.

People become part of a tribe even when they engage with other people outside the village gate. They may personally know each other, but they may not. They may have met with other members of the tribe, but they may not have. They may have communicated with other members of the tribe, but not necessarily. They may not even know they are a member of a tribe, although they are. They may not even want to be a member of a tribe, but that doesn’t matter. Humans are members of one tribe or another, whether they want to be or not. Humans become members of tribes simply by being alive and sharing an interest in something with other humans. They don’t even have to hold weekly club meetings to be part of a tribe. They can be members of a quilting bee or a hunting party made up of primitive headhunters.

Living tribally is better than dealing with threats on our own or in small, confined groupings of people, such as a family. We may choose to live alone. We may choose to remain part of the family into which we were born. But, when it comes to maximizing our chances of survival, we are compelled to join with others in tribes. The long and unbroken record of success in living tribally tells us that it is to our advantage to do so. It has succeeded where other approaches have failed. It has a proven track record going back to the beginning of time. If a tribe fails in helping us to succeed, another will be formed to take its place in a never-ending search for one that fills our collective and instinctive needs. All of this adds up to an achievement of monumental importance to every living person on earth today. It means that each of us is inextricably linked back through time to those who came before us and found that by joining others, they could get what they wanted but couldn’t get on their own. It took a tribe for them to survive then. It takes a tribe for us to survive now.

Chapter 2

Going Along with the Crowd

"People who need people are the

luckiest people in the world."

—Funny Girl (Broadway Musical)

Ask almost anyone what they think tribalism is, and you are bound to get a negative response. They will tell you it’s what those people over there are doing. They’ll tell you that it’s how those people in another political party are behaving. They’ll tell you it’s something that people who live in big cities, small towns, or on the street do. They’ll say it’s all those young people who are doing drugs, getting their tongues pierced, and having matching tattoos carved on their butt cheeks. It’s always something someone else is doing, not us. We’re not tribal. But, those people over there are, and it’s never a good thing. The world is divided, according to this type of thinking, along a tribal fault line; on one side are people who behave tribally and on the other side are people who do not. You’re either tribal, or you’re not tribal. One misstep and you could easily slide into the dark and savage abyss of tribalism from which you will never escape. None of this is realistic, however, and none of it is helpful. We need a different and more realistic way of thinking about tribalism.

Tribal is as Tribal Does

We think of a tribe in this day and age as a group of individuals who are primitive, barbaric, and lacking in personal hygiene. They are often viewed as throwbacks who reflect the frightened and savage ways of their ancestors and who have not yet learned how to live civilly without speaking in grunts. And, to be sure, this