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elleng

(130,156 posts)
Wed Jul 23, 2014, 12:32 PM Jul 2014

by Robert Reich

We’re witnessing a reversion to tribalism around the world, away from nation states. As technology instantly connects everyone and everything, people are reverting to more personal connections -- religious beliefs, language, the extensions of one’s family and its values. The Soviet Union has been replaced by nations split along tribal lines (Putin can’t easily annex the whole of Ukraine, only the Russian-speaking part). The Balkans have been Balkanized. The Scots want to separate from England; the Kurds, from Syria and Iraq. Sunni and Shia are warring across the Middle East.

Even American politics reflects a new tribalism, with one tribe (calling themselves liberals, progressives, or Democrats) holding sharply different views and values from the other (conservatives, Tea Partiers, Republicans). Each tribe has own demons (the Tea Party and Ted Cruz; the Affordable Care Act and Barack Obama); its own version of truth (one believes in climate change and evolution; the other doesn’t); its own moral codes (over gay marriage, abortion, guns, and the separation of church and state); and its own media that confirm its beliefs. The tribes even look different: One is becoming blacker, browner, and more feminine; the other, whiter, and more male-dominated. Increasingly, the two tribes live in their own regions –coastal or inland, north or south, urban or rural – with their state or local governments reflecting their contrasting values. This isn’t a claim of moral equivalence. Personally, I think the Republican right has gone off the deep end. But the fact is, the two tribes are pulling America apart. Should we separate?

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