The Importance of Tribes

When most people think of “Tribes” they tend to think of it in terms of American Natives, or those who live in the remote locations hidden within the Amazon. But in reality we all live among tribes - and in many instances we live among multiple tribes simultaneously.

Sports teams, churches, social organizations, politics, and so on are all forms of a tribe. Over the past couple of decades many of us have entered into - what I refer to, as Micro Tribes. These tribes have been sparked into existence by the social media platforms - beginning as far back as the inception of the internet, and AOL (America On Line).

When MySpace entered the picture we were introduced to “Blogging” for the first time, as well as the ability to build a community - a tribe, comprised of people from all over the world. During these early years the Tribes were more generic - much like the more modern-day communities that are comprised of people with varying interests and backgrounds that found commonalities with one another. As time moved forward, as well as the evolution of social media platforms, ie: Facebook, which was introduced in February of 2004 these communities began to evolve into tribes - where people came together with more specific commonalities: family, friends (as in actual friends), and acquaintances. In late 2010 we saw the introduction of Instagram, which grew to one million users within the first year. By mid-2018 Instagram had one billion users.

Through the evolution of these two platforms people began migrating into the “micro-tribes”. Because of the worldwide connectivity of these platforms, as well as the huge number of users, people were able to narrow their tribes to very specific criteria. As an example, now it was no longer political parties, but rather specific ideologies within a political party, and eventually these ideologies became even more specific - hence “micro-tribalism”: I like A, and B, but I don’t like C. If you are in agreement then you can be part of my tribe; but if you like A, and don’t like C, but are ambivalent regarding B, then you cannot be part of my tribe.

What I have discovered, through hundreds of conversations while on the road with the In Search of America project, is that this micro-tribalism was born out of a seemingly ever-increasing fear among members of a society. And as fear increases, the desperation to find a refuge of safety becomes more and more imperative. This is why tribes were created in the first place - to provide safety from outside threats: wild animals that found you as their prey, territorialism and others encroaching on your hunting grounds, and even community cooperation for hunting and, eventually, agriculture. It all boiled down to the same thing that it does today: safety in numbers.

The issue now, with micron-tribalism, is that such narrow focus blinds us to possibilities that might help in relieving our fears - such as learning the truth about something as opposed to believing in the propagandas that are perpetuated by those who benefit from us being in such deep fear.

Tribes, however, can be of great benefit to us - for reasons other than the feeling of safety. As an example I look at the Artist’s Salon that Gertrude Stein had each week at her apartment in Paris - in the early 1900’s. People - mostly artists, would gather each week to socialize, discuss art, and life in general. Out of this Salon emerged the artists that we now revere for their works: Matisse, Picasso, Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, and so on. 

In the 1940’s and 1950’s another tribe of artists emerged - this time in the United States. They became known as the Beat Poets. They began to organize, as a movement, in the 1940’s, but then more formally came together in the 1950’s, in the Bay Area of San Francisco - and more specifically, gathered at City Lights Bookstore, owned by publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Out of this tribe came writers and poets such as: Bob Donlon, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, and Robert LaVigne,

Modern day tribes provide more than just a perceived security. They can also provide nurturing, and mentoring. Most of all modern day tribes provide a synergy - regardless of what the tribe is based around: art, politics, gardening, food, etc. When two or more come together under a common mind, a synergy is created that becomes more powerful than any one individual.

Also, as part of a tribe, one has a community of like-minded individuals to contemplate with, explore ideas and thoughts with, in a trusted safe environment. It is important to understand that being “like-minded” does not mean that each person is the same as the other. Being “like-minded” refers to having core beliefs in something. The danger, however - which is what I see so much of now with micro-tribalism, is that people seek out others who not only share core beliefs, but they also seek out - and even demand that each member of the tribe “thinks” the same as them. When we lose the diversity of thoughts, vision, and ideas, we lose the ability to see the full picture.

I am reminded of something that former Tennessee Senator, Howard Baker Jr. had said - and I am paraphrasing a bit; ‘Essentially he said that partisanship is about drafting new ideas and policies. Bipartisanship is about flushing out all of the details to make sure nothing was missed.’

If we only look at situations with our own myopic vision we will never be able to see the entirety of anything. In micro-tribes we cannot “see the forest through the trees”, nor can we see anything but the trees - including obstacles, pitfalls, or optional - and quite possibly better pathways.

Many years ago I was part of a group of eight photographers who started a Salon. Our purpose was to create a group of “like-minded” individuals - all with an expertise, as well as a dep passion for photography. Each of us were well-accomplished photographers, but each from a different discipline of photography. And it was from this diversity of disciplines - differences in how we engaged in photography, that each of us grew significantly within our own disciplines. 

Keep in mind that a great soup is made up of more than just one ingredient. The richest flavors come from the synergy of many ingredients melding their individual influences together.

Which brings me to the close of this piece by relating an analogy that I have repeated many times:

When we are born we are like a cauldron of water simmering over a low fire. With each experience - good or not so good, it becomes an ingredient for our soup that we call life. At the end of our lives it is this soup that we leave behind for others to dine on.. What kind of soup do you want to leave behind: one that will be full of the most amazing flavors that enrich the hearts and souls of those consuming it, or one that will be rancid, or simply have no flavor at all?

The choice is ours…