From: Greg Jordan (jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 27 2003 - 07:17:43 MST
On Wed, 26 Mar 2003, Lee Corbin wrote:
> I suppose that it had evolutionary advantages at some
> point in the past to see others as not "the people".
> Hopefully, we are beyond that in most ways.
I wish. Here we are in the 21st century, and we see tribal warfare and
irrational religions clashing. Many Iraqis see the war as English-speaking
Christians vs. Arab-speaking Muslims, in other words, tribal warfare - or
what Americans call "race war".
And many of the anti-war protesters are no different - with their
anti-American slogans and burning the U.S. flag - they are engaging in
their own form of tribalism. Death to the Yankee tribe! Long live the
Arab tribe, Muslim tribe, Rich-West-Euro tribe!
One of Bush's innumerable and diverse justifications for the war with Iraq
is, of course, we must protect the American tribe by attacking the tribes
hostile to ours!
Four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon could see clearly enough the need to
move beyond idolatry of tribes. He suggested we think of ourselves as
citizens of the Human Republic. Yet that notion has practically
disappeared. That meme cannot hang on amidst the near universal
colonization of human minds by nationalisms.
gej
resourcesoftheworld.org
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu
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