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The Tribalism of Ideas


An Editorial Article for the Sahan Journal

Omar Alansari-Kreger

An idealist is someone that is defined by their imagination. We are entertained by ideas


that seem too good to be true. We think of a world that could be, but instead, we accept the world
as it is. History is defined by its struggles. Each generation identifies with some kind of crisis.
There is always going to be an issue that will test the spirit of our resolve. That describes the
essence of our humanity. In one way or another, the existential problems faced by a generation
are always unprecedented in their time. Our resolve is broken once we hold the idea of posterity
in contempt. At that stage, we have caved in to our cynical monsters. Yet, there is hope! Time
again an imagination tempts the possibilities of an idea. The role of an imagination cultivates the
creativity that goes into the development of an idea.
With so much knowledge at our disposal, we continue to complain of boredom. The
ubiquity of information has brought every imaginable answer to our front doorstep. It cannot be
stressed enough; we live in a world where there is no excuse for ignorance anymore. That reality
is intimidating to entertain because there is no unknowing the known. Apathy is treated as the
same thing as carelessness. That leads to an existential inquiry that challenges the sociological
legitimacy of society; is it possible to live in two simultaneous worlds at once? In this day and
age, our Age of Information runs alongside an Age of Ignorance. It is for that reason why the
human experience has been defined by one successive irony after another. An idea is predisposed
to a certain form of tribalism; that is best explained as the tribalization mind.
In a world where no one wants to admit wrongdoing, one perspective is pitted against
another. That leads to the mutual destruction of ideas. Everyone wants to be right, but no one can
fathom the possibility that they could in fact be wrong. That robs us of our humility; the essence
of which keeps us civilized. When one perspective of imperfect specimen is bent on maintaining
absolute legitimacy we forget what it means to be human! No one is right all the time. Dialogue
is not forged out of the ashes of another perspective different than our own. Tribalization
demands absolute adherence to one perspective which shuns all others. The average human brain
has billions of brain cells at its disposal; each one has the potential to transform into an idea.
What good is the power of mind if we surrender it to blind faith based on traditions we fail to
genuinely understand ourselves? On the contrary, our brains were originated to be used, not
simply carried in our skulls!
When no one accepts mutual wrong doing, perspectives remain embattled against each
other in what degenerates into a tribal war of attrition. This does not begin as the tribalism of
racial creed, but starts as a tribalism of ideas which influences how we interpret our reality.
However, ideas have an unfortunate habit of transforming into elite clauses of tribally based race.
Through the latter, we develop our relationship with our reality which reflects the world we
create for ourselves. Nonetheless, as humans, it is in our nature to mask our ignorance for

intelligence. It takes minimal mental effort to be a cynic, but tremendous effort to be an idealist.
If we continue to perpetuate cycles that are mutually destructive to all, we risk condemning the
future to ruinous ashes.
Civilization is made through shared dialogue; a world where we can agree to disagree while
advancing toward what is mutually inalienable to all. That is best described as a civilization of
providence. That includes all things that promise an elevated form of human posterity.

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