It is comforting to belong to a tribe…

Slogger is a North Antrim retiree and latecomer to political discourse.

We are a tribal species. We gravitate into tribes. That is, groups who share something in common.

A common worldview
A common interest
A common ethnicity
A common nationality
A common heritage
A common leader
A common loyalty
A common religious outlook
A common job or career

So tribes include, for example, football team supporters, Catholics, Protestants, club members, police, Swifties, civil servants, British people, Irish people, the GAA, Rugby Ireland, petrolheads, environmentalists, MAGA, lefties, the right.

You can belong to more than one tribe. Most people do. Last time I checked, my tribes are leftie, Irish, atheist, educationalist and European.

It is comforting to belong to a tribe. Tribal members will affirm each other’s opinions and allay each other’s insecurities. We have loads to talk about. (that matters a lot to us lonely Ulstermen)

We instinctively stick up for our tribes and their members. We have their backs. We defend their positions.

Therein lies the problem with our tribalism. We react instinctively. Loyalty to tribe often trumps consideration of other points of view. Loyalty to tribe can even trump acknowledgement of what is patently true. So tribalism can have us at loggerheads. Forever in a standoff.

Tribalism kinda sucks.

Soapbox

This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.