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  •  Tribalism (none / 1)

      One of the similarities (the differences are huge) with between Quebec the present situation in the US was the way dissent on the francophone side was suppressed.  Dissenters were branded as sell-outs ('vendus') and worse-- they were not 'true' quebecers; the psychological pressure on ordinary uneducated people to conform at least publicly was immense. The francophone press pretty much went along the with the underlying assumptions of the separatists even when they didn't support their policies.

    But what was most prominent and what is most like the Conservative movement in the Red areas of the US was the tribalism, a visceral 'us against them' that seems to have overridden all other considerations. The Quebecois tribalism came out of a common history, but it also expressed a deep sense of inferiority and insecurity thatis happily eroding.  Where does this sense of insecurity and inferiority come from in the United States?  I think if you examine the heartland of Redness, you see it is concentrated in small towns and rural areas that prosperity by-passed populated by persons who didn't lacked the educational and financial means to leave, or who self-selected to stay.  There is a good book on western South Dakota that discusses this phenomenon.  They have a deep and abiding resentment against the meritocracy that was the Clinton administration and all that it stood for.  If we are ever to get ourselves out of this existential mess, we have to find the root of that insecurity, which in effect has sponsored a home-grown tribalism.

    •  tribes (none / 0)

      This is a highly perceptive post, Knut.  American tribalism among the "non-advancers" of society.  This helps explain why many white poor support Republicans against their own economic interests, and especially why they support dunce-friendly leaders like Bush.

      It's not just social conservatism trumping their economic interests.  It's also, for some: "Rah Rah Tribe. I vote stupid."

      Now what I just wrote demeans some rural and poor white folk, so I want to caveat it by adding two thoughts:

      1. The characterization I made above only describes some rural or poor whites.  I'm not sure what percentage.
      2. There are positive aspects of tribalism too -- such as the generosity and support small town people are apt to give one another, and the tribes friendliness and solidarity among its own people.

      Civil society is our collective creation. It's an honorable source of growth, mutual satisfaction and fulfillment. It's yours and mine to nurture, or nix.

      by Civil Sibyl on Wed May 12, 2004 at 08:51:53 AM PDT

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