Gaza: "us" and "them"
A very wise man once said that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those that think that there are only two kinds of people in the world and those who don't.
The readiness to quickly divide the world into "us" and "them": this need to stimulate tribalism, is at the heart of right wing populism and the only difference between right wing populism and fascism is the degree of organized violence that they finally produce.
If you observe humanity closely it is hard to apply the word "them" to any mass of it. Perhaps only creatures from outer space could really be "them"... Humanity is "us". This is not to underestimate or obviate the cultural differences that exist. They exist because our species is unique in having memory, unique in its ability to accumulate and tell stories about itself. And also unique in living under the shadow of death, which other species ignore until it is upon them. Geography, climate, memory, language and death are the origins of culture.
Under our important cultural differences we have a species that is defined by living in society with its fellows. Different cultures facing different geography and climate have devised different strategies to make that possible, but all cultures have been faced with the same problem of integrating large groups of "us" into something manageable and productive enough to survive.
Most if not all of these strategies for social survival place value on such concepts as truth and peace and what the Chinese philosopher Mencius called, "human heartedness" or "innate goodness". His famous example (hat to Wikipedia) is called "The Four Beginnings" (benevolence, righteousness, respect and the capacity to distinguish right from wrong).. To show innate goodness, Mencius used the example of a child falling down a well.
Witnesses of this event immediately feel:
- Alarm and distress, not to gain friendship with the child's parents, nor to seek the praise of their neighbors and friends, nor because they dislike the reputation [of lack of humanity if they did not rescue the child]...
- The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity; the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of righteousness; the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety; and the feeling of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom.
- Men have these Four Beginnings just as they have their four limbs. Having these Four Beginnings, but saying that they cannot develop them is to destroy themselves.
Mencius's Four Beginnings could probably be a practical starting point for a constructive dialog, leading to peaceful coexistence, between any groups of human beings who have ever inhabited this planet. The challenge today with globalization and the phenomenon of mass immigration is to simultaneously respect that climate, geography, memory and death have made us all "different" while our common humanness has made us all "the same".
http://seaton-newslinks.blogspot.com
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"Most if not all of these strategies for social survival place value on such concepts as truth and peace and what the Chinese philosopher Mencius called, "human heartedness" or "innate goodness"."
Problem is, too often a particular society's "strategy for social survival" hinges on perceiving other societies and cultures as "the other", as a means to create unity, or purpose, or distraction from inherent flaws.
As long as religion provides a ready classification method by which to label an "other", and people willingly accede to such division of humanity, conflicts like that between Israel and Gaza will persist.
January 2, 2009 7:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good post David. That picture is worth ten thousand words. Take a looksee at Therap's blogs, both of them. I commented somewhere about the situation where felons are shooting from inside a mall. Do you send in a missile and blow the entire mall up?
We are dealing with real evil in real time.
"...that climate, geography, memory and death have made us all "different" while our common humanness has made us all "the same"."
Very well done.
January 2, 2009 9:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
For reasons that many will understand, I almost didn't read this post.
I'm glad to see you posting something other than what awful thing the PE either did or didn't do today.
Having said that, it is a subject I wish didn't need addressing. I will never understand man's inhumanity, nor will I ever understand how so much evil can be done in the name of a loving God. It breaks my heart to see what people have to endure at other people's hands.
January 3, 2009 12:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Except for right wing populists?
You contradict yourself.There are right wing populists who are good human beings and left wingers who aren't. Bill Clinton was a good president but there's no demand for him to baby sit anyone's teen age daughter.
The Right runs a gamut from Rush and Ann Coulter to David Brooks who actually seems like a decent guy. As for the Left, I wouldn't dream of missing Katha Pollitt....or reading Cochburn.
January 3, 2009 8:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, that's Cockburn. Alexander Cockburn.If I'm going to criticize someone , first I should spell their name right.
January 3, 2009 8:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Even MJ Rosenberg doesn't resort to easy photo-pathos to make his points.
Cherishing the bones of a relative is the beginning of elephantness, too. Feeding others first is the beginning of vampire batness. The feeling of shame and dislike is the foundation of chimpanzee society, ditto deference and compliance.
The search for justice is the foundation of civilization. But sometime all one can do is cut a deal, which Israel should do. Its other choice is to kill everyone.
January 3, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Interesting, Mr. Seaton. I made similar points on another thread, not yet having gotten this far. I think I consider tribalism a more fundamental aspect of human existence than you do, and much more difficult to suppress.
I also take slight exception to characterising a significant amount, let alone the majority, of historical groupings of people beyond the family- or hunting/foraging unit to have been somehow based on some type of "innate goodness."
January 4, 2009 8:44 AM | Reply | Permalink