Hey There 👋
Welcome to 2022! I’m thrilled about what we learned through MWF during 2021. It has sparked so much curiosity in me, that I am continuing to learn about the development side of technology (unfortunately, this takes time away from writing here). Hopefully, this will allow me to keep relaying topics to you in an understandable format. For me, I’m excited to see how much progress I can make in another year of striving to be a life-long learner.
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The Age of Tribalism
One of the most popular posts for MWF @ 8 is the 2020 year in review (I recommend you read it here). Below is from the beginning of the 2020 review where I explained why New Year's is my least favorite holiday:
Post-Christmas and early January is my least favorite time of the year. I've always viewed New Years' as the pessimist's holiday. Deep down, they want to be an optimist and believe in something better because no one enjoys going through their days constantly negative. New Year's Eve offers that hope to everyone.
The only problem is - February 1st is right around the corner. What will be different? More often than not, our lofty new year's resolution looks more like a wish. Stuff like coronavirus, tough economic conditions, and social issues will not magically disappear. Every year, we build a pipe dream of the ensuing year. As soon as the first sign of trouble comes, the same pessimist will turn back to negativity and look to bring everyone else down with them.
Little did I know it would only take a week for the U.S. Capitol to endure an insurrection. Immediately, we were right back to the same social dilemmas that create chaos. My overall takeaway from 2020 was -Â every year is a failure when you look at it through a lens of externalities you can't control. The same difficulties will persist around you as everyone battles for their perceived freedoms. But the only person that can impact your life in the upcoming year is you.Â
If 2020 was all about externalities, then 2021 created many introspective opportunities. Often I've stated in this newsletter that the 2020s will be one of the greatest decades ever because success follows hardship. Although, a significant roadblock continues to stand in the way of social progress. The 2021 theme that I wanted to write about is the injection of "tribalism" into our society.Â
Tribalism
"A tribe without enemies is, almost by definition, not a tribe. As a consequence, tribal dispute and warfare is part of what defines humanity."Â
Since the beginning, we have undertaken the identity of tribalism. It's ingrained in our human DNA to draw an "us against you" mentality. Only, it's not the Middle Ages where we had to fight for survival or even the 19th century where our ancestors had to sacrifice anything to make a dollar. It's the 21st century where I can open my phone and visit any "tribe" on the planet in under a day.Â
Many philosophers agree we are in an age of postmodernism. Like any philosophical ideal, you can find several definitions of what postmodernism is. From what I have gathered, postmodernism is a departure from modernism's individualism (i.e., the freedoms that western democratic governments created) and a shift to communal social constructs. In his book Explaining Postmodernism, Stephen R. C. Hicks describes the contrast between modernism and postmodernism as:
Postmodernism's essentials are the opposite of modernism's. Instead of natural reality—anti-realism. Instead of experience and reason—linguistic social subjectivism. Instead of individual identity and autonomy—various race, sex, and class groupisms. Instead of human interests as fundamentally harmonious and tending toward mutually-beneficial interaction—conflict and oppression. Instead of valuing individualism in values, markets, and politics—calls for communalism, solidarity, and egalitarian restraints. Instead of prizing the achievements of science and technology—suspicion tending toward outright hostility.
What was the most controversial social topic of 2021? Vaccine mandates. It perfectly illustrates the individual freedoms postmodernism is trying to tackle in a push for equality. Even though we have plenty of data indicating that vaccinated people can still get Covid and spread it, we continue this relentless push to ensure that everyone is vaccinated. Why? Equality. And if we can't be equal? Then we're at odds. And if we're at odds? Then my tribe is going to form a fabricated conflict with you.Â
Tribes by nature
Whenever I think of tribes, my mind goes to all of the seasons of Survivor I watched growing up as a kid. The show consists of about 20 people disbursed on an island divided into tribes. Weekly, the losing tribe of a challenge, must individually vote a member off at 'tribal council.'Â
Probably 75% of early tribal councils result in a uniform decision on who to vote out. Even if some don't agree, it's too early in the game to rock the boat. The people kept can help win challenges and those who are assets around the camp. Then, as the game progresses, tribal councils become more complex. You see a narrower margin of votes, like 3-2 instead of 6-1.
Why is it easy early in a tribe's life to decide who to vote out?Â
Naturally, when you don't get to pick your tribe, there are the people who can adapt to others and those who can't. If you can't adapt, you find yourself outside of a tribe. These outsiders eventually cause problems and then are voted off the island.Â
As the game of Survivor progresses, it's incredible to see the different tribes form chemistry. Even if you don't get to pick your tribe, it shows the more time you spend together, the more you take on the identity of your tribe.
I got to experience this first-hand when I joined an improv group for a few months this year. I did not select these people to be in my class; instead, I joined an ongoing group that knew each other, so guess who the immediate outsider was? It was a shock to learn that most of the people in the class were using it to develop their acting skills while actively seeking auditions. Meanwhile, I am an accountant. I had to break the 4th wall and exit my comfort zone pretty quickly for these people to want to act with me.
In the nicest way possible, I would probably not spend much personal time outside of class with those I did improv. They would probably say the same about me. But that's why improv works. The more diverse the people = the more diverse thoughts behind the skits. Everyone had different interests, but we ultimately found a commonality of coming together for 3 hours once a week to make dumb skits and laugh.
The most remarkable stories of humanity fine a common theme: those who can work together in adverse situations. The most significant adversities are often from the people you are at odds with.Â
For whatever reason, we still can't seem to reconcile differences on the internet -Â where we get to pick our tribes. When you aren't a part of the majority, you're outlawed. It's the place where tribalism goes to war.
Tribes by selection
We rarely seek to join tribes that are different from who we are. Why would I spend spare time with those I don't want to? For starters, we haven't always had the luxury of choosing who is in our tribe.Â
One of Facebook's best features was creating the option to join different 'groups.' Twitter made it possible only to follow what you want to hear. When you get to pick your tribe, there are fewer internal issues. Instead of solving disputes within a chosen tribe, the energy turns to external forces with tribes in opposition.
Find your tribe where you know you'll be liked, embrace each other, and scorn others outside your tribe. That's our societal formula today. It reminds me of the Micheal Scott quote:
"Do I Need to be Liked? Absolutely Not. I Like to be Liked. I Enjoy Being Liked. I Have to be Liked, but It's Not Like This Compulsive Need to be Liked, Like My Need to be Praised."
It's the being liked piece that is the heaviest influence in tribalism. It's always been cool to follow what everyone else is doing. How else are you going to fit in? I've taken this path for the majority of my life. To use a boat analogy, I've always thought that if I don't rock the boat, and instead do whatever everyone else on the boat is doing, then it doesn't matter where the boat is going because at least everyone likes me.
That is all tribalism is.
The same idea of needing to be liked has empowered and rewarded the loudest groups on the internet, mainly through identity politics. Now that we have a database of people's opinions through social media, we can see the spectrum of where tribes are going, namely the political Left and Right. Thus, it's evident that people say and believe things just because of the tribe they represent. The most influential people and companies have even succumbed to this. It's formed a wave of 'virtue signaling' and 'holier than thou' rhetoric that makes the internet toxic.Â
All in the name of being liked?
Where does tribalism go?
When you enter a tribe by nature(school, work, family), you must reconcile your differences to survive. When you enter a tribe by selection (social media, friends, religion), you can select anyone willing to conform and attack anyone who does not.Â
What worries me is the closing of the mind the internet has created. In the age of abundance, we choose only to hear what we want to hear. I stumbled upon a fantastic idea this year called the "The 60-second Antithesis" exercise. The premise is to take the opposite of your belief and argue for that opposite in 60 seconds. For example, I believe in free markets. But if I were to argue the opposite, it would go like:
"Free markets only benefit the people who designed it. Those who do not start with wealth are at an immense disadvantage due to those who do. If we distributed more wealth to those who did not have it, we would see more progress. It potentially would decrease crime as more disadvantaged would not see crime as the only way to survive."
When have you ever seen Ben Shapiro tweet something positive about the left? Or Kyle Kulinsky about the right? Then scale that down to our social interactions, and we know that is not how the internet operates in its current state. It rewards chaos, so the only direction of tribalism is to become more exclusive, more you're wrong & I'm right, more destructive, more lies, more hate.Â
To change tribalism is to change the current state of the internet. Because right now, the only thing that matters is the number of "likes".
My 2021 Goals
I've always had animosity against goal-setters. Growing up, I thought the idea was dumb. Maybe it was because I was extremely lazy, but even today, I struggle with the thought of setting a lofty expectation for myself and the potential failure associated. 2019 was the first year that I made a goal. It was the classic swear-off of sodas. After I accomplished it, it was such a good feeling. I was hooked on what I could achieve in a year to better myself.
I won't go into detail on what I choose (if you want to discuss why and what I choose, message me!), but below are the goals that I wrote down for 2021:
The interesting thing is that I didn't re-read them until about June, but I had still been keeping all of them. The practice of writing something down is so powerful. It creates a discipline that makes the task non-negotiable. The only goal I did not accomplish by year-end was the subscriber number for MWF. That's mainly because I pivoted to other pursuits and did not put all of my spare time into writing.
If you're new to goal-making, the MOST IMPORTANT thing is to start as SMALL as possible. There is nothing worse than self-defeat… You can accomplish anything, but write it down first.
Best Reads of 2021
West from Appomattox: The Reconstruction of America after the Civil War - Heather Cox Richardson
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human - Jonathan Gottschall
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction - William Zinsser
Leadership in crisis – why the West needs Plato more than ever