All Culture is Conditioning

It occurs to me that I may not ever have an original thought.  Whenever I think I've stumbled upon something: "All culture is conditioning"; "All politics is tribal"; "All English (excepting immigrants) are descended from King Edward I", I test it on Google, and there it is.  On the one hand, it confirms what I've been thinking; on the other, my idea is probably not as insightful as I had imagined.

As I watched the wedding of Prince William and Catherine, I thought, "Well, there's goes my cousin!"  A bit of self-indulgence, because almost every other person with English roots can claim the same thing (even if quite distant).  In fact, on the same basis, I can also claim a relationship with George Washington, George Bush, and Barack Obama.  After all, inter-relationship over time is what makes races.  It also creates the tribe and informs the biases.

Along with "All culture is conditioning", is my corollary, "All beliefs are tied to the ego".  This is why it is so difficult to resolve disagreements, especially if there has been an investment in social approval or self-esteem. People aren't particularly receptive to ideas which conflict with attitudes developed over time, selectively re-inforced, and tied to their social group.  Extended to politics, it means one tribe against another.  Forget objective evidence.  We are attracted to ideas which make us feel good.  Dominance is one of them.

I notice on social networking, the intensity by which posters vie for attention, attack each other, protect their imagined turf.  Liberals hook up with other Liberals and attack Conservatives; Conservatives hook up with other Conservatives and attack Liberals.  They re-inforce each other.  Extreme statements get tested for validation (or just to attract attention).  Finding common ground with the enemy is disloyalty to the tribe.  Desertion or banishment would be a psychological "no-man's land".

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Easter, the holiest of Christian holidays.  Most North Americans claim to be Christians, so you would think this might be an important spiritual event.  From what I could see on social networks, Easter is the celebration of chocolate, colored eggs, eating, and, of course, more shopping.  "Love your neighbour?"; "Forgive your enemy?"  Not quite.  Not when there's a good attack to get in on.

It seems a long time, since "Change came to America".  But human beings didn't evolve through large-scale cooperation.  They evolved through tribal warfare.  Selection of the fittest.  Survival against threat: physical, psychological, and emotional.  It's hard-coded in our genes.