How Did The Tribal Tug Of War For Truth Start?

It is well recognized that our nation is deeply divided. Some fear that the divisions are so deep that there could be some drastic consequences.

At the root of the division is tribalism. Tribalism emerges as group loyalty that crosses a certain threshold. Though it is difficult to precisely define that threshold, the effects are unmistakeable. For example, the more loyal one is to their chosen group, the more difficult it becomes for that person to objectively consider any wrongdoings by their group. In fact, one can be so loyal to one's group that they passionately embrace a moral relativity that says that what is right and wrong depends on who does what to whom. We saw that in the Cold War when Americans blindly supported the Vietnam War and other US policies that participated, at different levels of involvement, in coups that overthrew left leaning democratically elected leaders and replaced them with tyrannical dictators. Those who claim to be proud, patriotic Americans could see nothing wrong with those actions. 

We see a similar tribalism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those who are tribally loyal to Israel aggressively assert that the Occupation, the confiscation of land, and whatever other actions are taken by the Israeli government against the Palestinians are morally correct. While those with a tribal loyalty to the Palestinians have already rationalized the terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians.

We have a somewhat new tribalism that is threatening to tear America apart. That tribalism revolves around Trump and Trumpism. And though loyalty to Trump himself makes up a large part of Trumpism, it also applies to the sources of misinformation and political candidates who follow in Trump's footsteps with or without his approval.

It's not hard to see this Trumpism up close and personal. It was evident on January 6, 2021, it was and still is evident during the investigations in January 6 and in the Trumpublican responses to both Biden's forgiving of the college debt as well in FBI search for federal documents at Mar-A-Lago. Not only are the responses by Trumpublicans strong and condemnatory of those events while defending Trump, that reaction is being used to further the divide we have in this nation.

We should note that part of tribalism involves authoritarianism revolving around a given group. Realize that many modern studies on authoritarianism, authoritarian personality types to be specific, were actually started by the Frankfurt School, which has ties to Marxism or Neo-Marxism. Their study into authoritarian personality types was the result of looking at why Germans remained so loyal to Hitler even during the worst days of his regime. Below is a partial list of characteristics of an authoritarian personality type. Review those characteristic to see which of those signs are ones we are witnessing today. Just replace the word 'conventional' in the terms 'conventional beliefs' or 'conventional thinking' with the word ' the group' (click here for the source, click there for a longer list of characteristics):

• 'Blind allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong'
• 'Belief in aggression toward those who do not subscribe to conventional thinking, or who are different'
• 'A need for strong leadership which displays uncompromising power'
• 'A belief in simple answers and polemics - i.e. The media controls us all or The source of all our problems is the loss of morals these days.'
• 'Resistance to creative, dangerous ideas. A black and white worldview'
• 'A tendency to project one's own feelings of inadequacy, rage and fear onto a scapegoated group'
• 'A preoccupation with violence and sex'

We should note what Erich Fromm attributed authoritarian personality types to. He attributed them to being alone and then fear. Fromm identified two subtypes of the authoritarian personality: active authoritarian and the passive authoritarian. The active authoritarian gains significance by having followers whom they can dominate, and the passive authoritarian gains significance by belonging something larger than themself, by following the lead of their preferred active authoritarian (click here for source).

So if that is what you are seeing in the Trumpublicans, then we can say that there is some degree of truth in calling them authoritarians. BTW, we need to realize that Trumpublicans do not have a monopoly on authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is the other pandemic that has crossed all ideological sides. It is that for some, the signs of authoritarianism seem to be most pronounced in the Trumpublicans.

But what started all of this? It all goes back to conservative talk radio, especially with people like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin. How did they start today's authoritarianism? If you remember, one of the traits of the authoritarian personality listed above is that of having a black-white worldview. And that is exactly what those three fostered, as well as those who followed in their footsteps, groomed  their listeners into having. Their constant message that conservatives were this country's true patriots and backbone. Meanwhile, they described liberalism as a mental illness, 

While conservative talk radio show hosts deserve a significant amount of the blame for manipulating vulnerable audiences into embracing authoritarian thinking, they are not the only ones to blame. Religiously conservative Christianity created the foundation for the authoritarian culture that has always existed in America. This makes religiously conservative Christians more susceptible to catching the authoritarian personality virus--note that I am saying that as a religiously conservative Christian. The Scriptures lay out how we are under many authority figures. And perhaps we have been put under so many authority figures that we have forgotten how to turn off the authority switch for those settings that involve egalitarianism.

And again, authoritarianism knows no ideological boundaries. Because I lean toward Marxism and have attended certain events like May Day commemorations, I've see authoritarianism in leftists. And because I have friends who are registered Democrats, I've seen authoritarianism in them. 

So we see authoritarianism in tribalism and thus the way to challenge tribalism is not with more tribalism from the group that knows how to do it right, but with approaches that do not include authoritarian traits. In particular, we need to challenge black-white worldviews by showing how such worldviews don't explain the details. Black-white worldviews don't explain the wrongdoings of those in their own group nor the contributions that have been made by those from rival groups. And finally, we need to recognize and try to relieve the fear that has driven so many into following authoritarian leaders. And berating others is not the way to respond to the fear that is in so many Trumpublicans and others today.