American Tribes

It’s fair to say that divisions are sharpening between several political groups in this country.  The first group represents the point of view of the cultural elites.  Now this group has any number of names.  Some people call them the managerial class because they fill the ranks of the upper echelons of corporate America.  They run the private corporations and public institutions.  They were educated at elite schools and colleges.  They believe that they are the natural leaders of this country and they have a very low opinion of the rest of society.  And they think the constitutional order is an encumbrance to allowing them to remake society according to their plans.  This group has the most power and they have become adept at using “divide and conquer” techniques to prevent anyone from wresting power from their hands.  They wholly control both the Democrat and Republican parties and use these puppets to confound anyone attempting to change the status quo.

Another group are those who have seen through the elites’ puppet show and are now completely disillusioned with all aspects of the government.  They are waiting for the revolution.

A third group are those who describe themselves as civic nationalists.  Many of them are aware of the puppet show but have hope to see the elites’ grip on power ended.

And then there are those who are client groups of the elites.  Large majorities of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and LGBTQ individuals follow the elites’ lead on almost every question or issue because they are given special consideration by the elites to maintain their hold on the system.

The question I have is whether the political polarization will lead to cultural and identity shifts in these people.  Up until a decade ago, more or less, almost everyone in this country considered themselves Americans first and foremost.  I don’t think that is any longer true.  Barack Obama made it a very large part of his agenda to stir up animosity against white people within the black population.  And that has borne bitter fruit.  And this has been reflected in the elites as an anti-white ideology that we now call woke culture.  And this woke ideology in turn has sparked in the disillusioned group I described above an antipathy against American identity as a flag-waving trap.  They have rejected the idea that Americans of different races or even different ethnic backgrounds constitute a cohesive nation.

So, on the Far Left you have a rejection of the history and people who were the basis of the country and on the Far Right you have a denial that disparate groups represent a people.  And then you have everyone else in the middle trying to figure where all this leaves them.

Now finding myself in that middle I wonder whether the two outside groups will get their wish and tear this country apart.  And will it be torn in two pieces or three?  I feel somehow that the middle by itself could make a country that would be closest to the idea of what America was a hundred years ago or so.

I think the middle would be happy going back to what we had back then.  We could all celebrate the 4^th of July and Thanksgiving together and leave it at that.  We could still pledge allegiance to the stars and stripes.  Although if the outside groups decide to peel off a few states for their areas we’d have to renumber the stars somewhat.  We’d speak English and teach our kids about Christopher Columbus, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  But maybe we could skip Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.  And we could go back to getting along as best we can amongst each other without reparations or affirmative action or pretending that perfect equality and perfect racial harmony are things you find in the real world.  We could make that work pretty well.

But what I wonder about is what would the other two groups look like in fifty years.  I get the idea that the elite state would have some serious problems.  I look at California and New York and I see real dysfunction.  And I can’t figure out what their culture would be like.  Without the people in the middle to demonize I’m not sure how the elites would be able to confuse their client groups into not attacking them personally.  After all, they are the richest and whitest people of all and they are responsible, according to their logic for all the grievances that the other groups have.  It’s going to be pretty hard to change that opinion.

So, I see the elite state as like California only worse.  I think it’ll either rethink all the woke nonsense or it’ll collapse.  But either way it’ll be a sight to behold and a cautionary tale.

Now as for the disillusioned, I’m trying to imagine what their country would be like.  First off, it’ll be very white.  That’s a given.  I’m guessing it’ll be well-organized and won’t have a very good basketball league.  And it will have a very efficient border patrol but maybe not the best restaurants.  Just kidding!

Will it have a 4^th of July celebration and Thanksgiving?  Maybe.  Will it be a republic, a monarchy, an oligarchy?  I wonder if they know?  From what I’ve gleaned they’re not so hot on democratic forms of government.  Maybe someone from that side could give us a thumbnail sketch of their idea of a good government.  Of course I’m not being fair.  Humans have failed at maintaining a prosperous stable form of government at all times and places on this planet.  Why should the disillusioned be held to a higher standard?

But if I had a choice of which group I’d live with it would be the middle.  Without the elites provoking the client groups I think that we could have a very decent country.  I happen to believe that there are differences in intelligence and temperament amongst groups of people.  But the business of society is making up rules that can be applied across the great swath of human variation in a way that most people could agree was fair.  After all, even within an almost homogeneous group like a neighborhood of people who all came from the same village in the old country you will have some very smart individuals and then you’ll have the village idiot.  But the hope is that even the idiot can find a job where he contributes, maybe he’s the street sweeper or he walks dogs.

This idea that everyone has to be within one standard deviation in intelligence doesn’t seem necessary.  So, I’m willing to live in a heterogeneous society as long as I’m allowed the freedoms that the constitution provides and the people running the show are honest and competent.

I wouldn’t want to be in Neo-California.  That place will be a nightmare and the rules are unfair and crazy.

And I couldn’t live in Asgaard.  I’m not nearly white enough nor hard-working enough.  Way too much Italic influence.

So put me with the mutts.  If we can manage to maintain the system that the English put together for us two hundred and forty years ago, we could have a little slice of heaven on Earth.  Or maybe I’m totally wrong.  What do you think?