Since the 1950s, many people in the United States have sought to build a more united and civil society. That these noble efforts have largely failed is obvious. What’s less obvious is the Why and How of this failure of many Americans to behave like responsible adults. We can talk about politics, money, power, love, hate, sex and religion until we’re blue in the face. But none of that gets to the root cause. 

Humans, by our very nature are tribal creatures. We tend to distrust or dislike “those other people” no matter who they are. We conquer them. We enslave them. We take away their rights. Or we just kill them. All because they are not us. We accuse “them” of being without morals, or perhaps they’re part of some monstrous conspiracy involving aliens (Martians, not Mexicans) or the feared Illuminati.

Scholars and scientists mostly trace the origins of this behavior back to distant primitive times when small groups of hunter / gatherers fought for food and resources as a matter of survival. Primitives made up gods to explain everything from rain to volcanoes, and a natural extension of this was the “my god’s better than your god” stuff between tribes. And that has over the ages led to more bloodshed than any other point of contention in human history.

Tribal behavior has continued unabated throughout the ages. The Dark Ages, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution etc all bear the scars of human nature. We as a species seem to have adopted a binary attitude toward life. It’s either good or bad. It’s true or false. It’s Up or Down. We seem incapable of recognizing a simple, obvious truth: Life is a continuum. There is in most cases (not all but most) a spectrum between any two extremes. And whether we like it or not or even realize it, each of us exists within that spectrum.

Put three people in a room and give them a contentious subject to discuss (abortion, drug legalization, etc). Will they one hundred percent agree on everything? Anything? No. Of course not. Each individual is at a different point in the spectrum of the issue. Our opinions will vary widely due to our ingrained biases and each person’s life experiences.

Look at our two major political parties. As time has passed they have become more divergent than ever before. Why? Because they wish to be differentiated from each other. Neither party gives two shits about the people they represent. They just wish to be as far apart as possible. Both parties cast “third parties” (I’m an Independent) as usurpers or spoilers or whatever. Why? Because third parties often represent the common sense middle ground between the extremes. Oh no, can’t have that. God forbid we inject some constructive reason and logic into US politics. Don’t get me started.

Imagine if Iran would meet Israel somewhere in the middle. We might see an end to one of the world’s most destructive conflicts. Imagine if Democrats and Republicans could meet in the middle and actually do some constructive work for ALL of the people, not just those at the extremes. Imagine if Christian extremists would quit hating on the LBGTQ community and just leave them alone. Imagine if those same Christians would stop trying to weasel their way into our public schools and allow for proper instruction of our youth. There is a reason why American education is falling behind the rest of the world.

But no. Each “tribe” is convinced that they’re right and everyone else is wrong. They attempt to make moral judgments upon people simply because they do not agree upon some issue or another. Nowadays it doesn’t take much. Any little piddly thing can create a point of separation. And it’s getting worse. In various public forums I’ve been called both a fascist and a commie. That’s what I get for trying to look at all sides of an issue.

It’s way past time for humanity to move beyond this mindless polarization and face the fact that regardless of skin color, national origin, religious beliefs and sexual orientation, we are all human beings. We can all live together. We can all learn to celebrate our differences and let those differences make us stronger as a whole. We don’t have to like each other. But we do have to share a planet.

Either we learn to live together, or we shall all die together. And upon that my friends there is no spectrum. It’s a hard cold fact. If we don’t learn soon we will destroy ourselves through hate and ignorance.