Tribalism has become a more important component to American society than community. There are so many groups that are diametrically opposed and continuing to hurl further and further apart. As these groups become insular with rhetoric that isn’t palatable to people outside that tribe, the question has to be asked: what is the point?
In the case of social justice warriors, the rhetoric for some has become so far removed from logic that it baffles the mind. The fringe of this social justice movement give a prescriptive antidote to the problems within society that addresses no one's problems directly any more. What is the point of making everything into an "us versus them" contest when the uniting idea is supposed to be… Well, last I fucking checked, unity.
On the other side of illogical tribalism is the alt-right movement. In most cases, this boils down to white supremacy which is a mindset that lends itself to tribalism in its very nature. What is the end goal of the white supremacist movement? Usually, it is stated as not allowing Jews and non-whites into positions of power within institutions. Intellectually, that isn't the best path forward for society as race is a poor indicator of both ability and what someone's actions will be once in a position of power. It's not sustainable in a reasonable way for the majority to suppress the minority.
I think the main disconnect between these two groups is that one begets and emboldens the other. While the social justice warrior movement has the generally accepted moral high ground, their rhetoric doesn't advance the conversation in a positive direction. Sadly, it is actually easier to argue against the social justice warrior position then it is against the white supremacist position for me. I assume it is the same for a lot of the population and having radical views from one side presented in a very rude, condescending way ends up radicalizing them in the other direction.
Can't we all do things in a way that answers the below simple questions?
- What is it that I want to see change?
- How is what I am doing help that change occur?
- Is what I am doing causing other problems?
- Is the change I want to see best for society or just me?
- Can I do more productive things to see this change?
If we aren't asking ourselves these kinds of questions, we're just shouting at ourselves to hear ourselves speak at first. Afterwards, we are shouting at the "others" while patting ourselves on the back with our new tribe of friends.
Why?