| Psychology and Mental Health Forum | |
https://www.psychforums.com/blog/halcatalyst41/how_large_is_your_tribe%CA%94_kindness._b-9186.html |
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| Author: | halcatalyst41 [ Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:55 am ] |
| Blog Subject: | How Large is Your Tribe? Kindness. |
According to anthropology, a tribe is a collection of clans, which are groups of related people. Within a clan can be found smaller groups of relatives which, depending on the degree of cultural sophistication, are called bands, or extended families. In modern Western terms, the extended family breaks down into families, of which there are many varieties. All of us belong to families and extended families. We also belong to communities of many kinds: schools, churches, clubs, political parties, bowling leagues, and many others. “Community” implies a certain smallness, where most people know most others who belong to it. Probably 300 to 400 people is the upper size limit of a community in this sense. This can also be called a village. Beyond that, politically, there are towns, cities, states and countries. Parallel to these are local private bodies of all kinds, such as clubs and churches, which may be parts of national or even international organizations. All these are comprised of people, people related in many ways, people who are hurtful and helpful to one another. Kindness lies at the root of helpfulness. No one can be helpful without being kind. And while kindness may not always be materially helpful, it always consoles or encourages the person to whom it is offered. Then, to whom are we kind? It's easy to be kind to those we love, those closest to us, those in our literal or emotional families or communities. But what about those in groups farther removed from us, those in other clans and tribes? (I use this language deliberately.) “Clan” members are mostly our more distant relatives, our extended families. A “tribe” for us today is any group of any size with which we strongly identify. It may be something like Toastmasters, the Cubbies, a political party, or even the company we work for. It is a place where we belong. In the tribe, we are accepted, and to a tribe, we are loyal. It's easy to be kind to someone in our tribe, but what about anybody else? Is that important? This question lies at the root of all morality, I believe. And I also believe that morality is at the root of politics. Politics is nothing more than the way we agree to get along together in tribes. This is as true now as it was in primitive societies. So how can kindness possibly apply in politics? It is in the transition from one to many, from me to you, from us to others, to the family, to the clan, to the tribe, to the nation, to the world. The problem is where we stop: is it at the tribal limits? Kindness is an aspect of charity, which is far more than giving stuff to those less fortunate. Charity is love. Is it possible to express love through kindness outside our tribe? Let's look at those who take an opposite approach. Some would have it that government at all levels should be as lean as possible. People have the individual right to do what they like with their own property, and it is fundamentally unjust for the government to take it away from them, except under limited circumstances. Those who think this way might concede that kindness is okay if extended to members of their immediate social group, or maybe a little farther. With a little prodding, they might agree that kindness would be all right if given to some others higher up in the chain of individual to society. But I think this kind of person wouldn't really be much interested in that sort of discussion. So let's cut to the chase. Consider the extreme poor: the unworthy, extreme poor. Keep these people in mind, but think about everybody outside your tribe. How do you show kindness to them? You can do it alone or with others. Let's stick with you. You might do something, volunteer, or give something away. Anything, including money. You could do it privately or publicly, no difference. And you could try to be kind to the unworthy poor as well as to anybody and everybody else. Or is your largesse limited to your tribe? |
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