Tribalism in the modern age
By Caroline O'DonovanTribalism in the modern age
By Caroline O'DonovanThe best works of fantasy, be they novels, television shows or movies, blend with reality in a way that makes it easier to believe the elements of the story that are fictional. It makes sense to the viewer, for example, that the north is cold and the south is hot, or that a desert tribe—in the case of the show, the Dothraki—would be nomadic. The house system in Game of Thrones unmistakably reflects the tribal warfare and feudal systems of early human history, and makes the magical world of nightwalkers and dragons something contemporary viewers can understand.
To form a tribe, writes biologist E.O. Wilson, is human nature. It is human instinct to “demonize the enemy, to organize rallies and raise flags.” In today’s world we have largely done away with the traditional tribe, but the feeling of belonging to a group, for pleasure and for safety, is as important as it ever was. Sports fans wear certain colors, sing and chant in unison, and, after great victories, dance in the streets together. Such experiences, Wilson posits, do not merely mimic the experience of the team; the fans are “personally flying high” on the bond that they share. It is for these bonds that humans act altruistically, Wilson writes, but also in defense of these bonds that we sometimes act violently; they are they way that we order our world.
One group that has maintained its sense of tribe for thousands of years, despite being scattered around the world, are Jews. Today, however, Jewish leaders for whom this sense of community is most important are concerned about a shrinking Jewish population. One cause is the high number of Jews (50% in the last two decades) who have married outside the faith. By traditional Jewish law, Jewishness can only be passed down through matrilineal succession. With a rapidly rising population of young half-Jewish people, however, some leaders believe that a more accepting, multicultural approach to assessing Jewish identity could help bolster the Jewish population.
Today on Eight Forty-Eight, we’ll sit down with Rabbi Adam Chalom, a Dean of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism, and talk about how Jewish leaders should approach young Jews of mixed heritage. Chalom, who believes opposition to interfaith marriages for Jews is based in an understanding of Jews as “the Chosen people,” will talk about how these young people can embrace being Jewish and something else, and how they are beginning to build a new, multifaith tribe of their own.
Jenka Gurfinkel, who blogs at Social-Creature, knows a lot about how young people form tribes. Tribes used to be defined by gender, class, race and religion, Gurfinkel says, but pop culture has given us the ability to choose our own tribes. Based on a mutual interest in music, or fashion, or professional interest, we form groups, and then solidify those bonds by participating in certain behaviors or dressing in a certain way. Gurfinkel will chat with us on Eight Forty-Eight about individual branding in the modern age, and how new technologies strengthen and weaken our tribe instinct.