How Tribes Define Our Reality
There is a new theory gaining traction within socio-anthropological circles about gossip and tribes. In early humans, language skills quickly turned to gossipy communications just like today. The theory holds that the gossip really is an exchange of information about the environment, danger areas, good places to hunt or gather, and it creates the “facts” that inform and become common to the group, which, in turn, leads to the creation of tribes.
This tribal behavior was best seen locally during the July 4th fireworks. Laguna fireworks started about 9:15 p.m. and went on for about 15 minutes, then stopped. After that, Emerald Bay fired off its batch. On my deck, a group of us watched Laguna Beach and then Emerald Bay.
After Emerald Bay finished, there was about a three-minute pause, and then Laguna Beach fired off another volley. Another pause. Emerald Bay fired off another. Pause. Laguna Beach fired. Our group went nuts, chanting, “Laguna! Laguna! Laguna!” Then came another volley from Emerald Bay. Then Laguna. More cheers. Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, back and forth for a good 20 minutes, everyone cheering and clapping.
Yes, we were tribal. Emerald Bay technically is not part of the City of Laguna Beach. It is part of unincorporated Orange County, so yes, it is a different tribe and oh yes, with different sensibilities. Example: it is much richer than most of Laguna, and much more politically conservative. When you are there, you feel like you’re in Newport Beach.
If one wishes to generalize about tribes using just Laguna and Emerald Bay as examples, one finds that small differences alone can and do define different tribes.
Today, shared assumptions about what is “real” have splintered the Great American Experiment. Depending upon your tribe, you believe what is “real.” Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan famously opined, “the medium is the massage,” would have a field day. Note he did not say, “the medium is the message.” He said, “Massage.” That is, he believed whichever medium by which you communicate shapes not only what you think, but also how you think.
Nowadays, there are so many media platforms, each with its own set of “facts” or “alternate facts,” that the shared assumptions about “who we are” has fractured our society into hundreds of warring tribes
Finally, it begs the question: is there any reality out there? Are there any common assumptions about what America is, or should be?
My answer—at this point—must be no. Not a good place for our society.
Michael is co-founder of Orange County School of the Arts and The Discovery Cube.
