Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saved by Politics ?
Politics is not about how we agree. Politics is a way to handle our disagreements without surrendering to our baser instincts and trying to kill each other.
I have studied politics, observed politics, and participated on the periphery of politics for since JFK. This is an interesting concept I had never heard before, and it may make me feel a little better about the abysmal state of American politics.
Tribalism seems to be the baseline across the world…whether it was Scottish clans, African tribal rivalries, Afghan warlords or American Indian tribes, these family/tribal groupings lacked a political system to resolve disputes among the tribes and constant warfare was/is the result. When national governments fall into disarray, the citizens quickly revert to tribalism like we have seen in places like Yugoslavia or Somalia, to name just two countries.
How did a few hundred settlers in Seattle survive with thousands of Native Americans frequently ready to go to war? When one tribe was ready to go to war, that meant its rival tribe immediately became allies of the settlers. In other words, the history of tribal warfare and the absence of an inter-tribal political system allowed the settlers to survive.
So, is American politics with all its messiness, the glue that holds the country together? Even though partisan talking points place perception ahead of truth and disinformation becomes a way of life, we might otherwise be shooting at each other to make our point.
Anyway, this concept of politics is new to me and worth thinking about. I welcome any of your thoughts.
Bob Klavano
September 12, 2010
I have studied politics, observed politics, and participated on the periphery of politics for since JFK. This is an interesting concept I had never heard before, and it may make me feel a little better about the abysmal state of American politics.
Tribalism seems to be the baseline across the world…whether it was Scottish clans, African tribal rivalries, Afghan warlords or American Indian tribes, these family/tribal groupings lacked a political system to resolve disputes among the tribes and constant warfare was/is the result. When national governments fall into disarray, the citizens quickly revert to tribalism like we have seen in places like Yugoslavia or Somalia, to name just two countries.
How did a few hundred settlers in Seattle survive with thousands of Native Americans frequently ready to go to war? When one tribe was ready to go to war, that meant its rival tribe immediately became allies of the settlers. In other words, the history of tribal warfare and the absence of an inter-tribal political system allowed the settlers to survive.
So, is American politics with all its messiness, the glue that holds the country together? Even though partisan talking points place perception ahead of truth and disinformation becomes a way of life, we might otherwise be shooting at each other to make our point.
Anyway, this concept of politics is new to me and worth thinking about. I welcome any of your thoughts.
Bob Klavano
September 12, 2010
Labels: politics, tribalism, war
# posted by bob's eye @ 6:20 PM 
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Pardon me if I misinterpret your words, but what I got from that post was that there has always been a sense of division among a "unfied" group; Whether it be modern civilization or a Native American tribe. That is something that I totally agree with. I've explained this time and time again to my peers although, it never really quite sunk in. There will always be disputes among others but, like what you conveyed, Americans were some of the first to have a system to settle these diputes. This is what differentiates Americans from the civilizations of yester-year. Without modern politics and politicians our country would fail. As time goes by, we as country advance and grow wiser. But along the way, we face obstacles that prevent us from furthering ourselves; often times those obstacles are created by our own stubornness. And without a system to deal with the many quarrles and obstacles we would be back where we started, clueless proles wondering around, looking for leadership.
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