The need to belong to a group is highly instinctual and dates to the time we as a species took our first baby steps. Our yearning for belonging is as natural as our inclination to avoid pain and seek pleasure. But not everything that is natural is always good.
For one, our obsession with identity often hinders our ability to think logically. To begin, let’s use the classic example of liberal and conservative belief systems, each of which are united, and limited, by the contents of their very own package.
Metaphorically speaking, those who belong to a given group that dogmatically subscribes to a given belief system have at one time received a package delivered to their brain. Upon receiving the package, they opened it, removed everything they found inside, and adopted each item as their own, without even realizing it.
What are the items in each package, you may ask?
It depends on the era and political ideology. Let’s focus on the package for today’s liberal and conservative Americans, since liberal and conservative beliefs can vary somewhat from country to country, era to era.
The package
For today’s liberal American package, the first item is the belief that different countries should work together to combat global problems, like pandemics, climate change, and the threat of global conflict.
The second item is the belief that all human beings should have equal opportunities and be equally treated with dignity, regardless of race or gender.
The third item is the belief that there are no biological differences between men and women.
The fourth item is that there are 50+ genders and that people can freely choose whatever gender they want to be.
As you can see, the contents of the package can vary greatly, but we are often made to believe they are interconnected, and if you haven’t accepted one of those items in your package of beliefs, then you definitely don’t belong in the liberal tribe.
For the conservative American package, the first item is a profound love for the United States of America (likewise for conservative packages around the world, you must love your country).
The second item is the belief that tradition should be preserved, and change should take place slowly, if at all.
The third item in the American conservative package is the belief that every human being has the God-given right to own a firearm, and that military style weapons should be sold at every gas station, regardless of how many mass shootings result from this ubiquity of arms, because good guys with guns always stop bad guys with guns.
The fourth item is a fierce denial of scientific facts that may call for international cooperation, such as human-induced climate change or global pandemics, because global cooperation goes against the belief that our nation is a lone alpha cowboy who can handle every problem on his own.
Sure, not everyone will religiously adhere to the entire package and may understand that, regardless of their political inclinations, all nations need to unite to combat global threats like climate change, while realizing the 50 genders thing is scientifically questionable.
Unfortunately, the beliefs liberals and conservatives are expected to have are quite clear these days. Nowhere is this more evident than in the media, both mainstream and non-traditional. Today, it seems only conservative media outlets are the ones able to highlight the fact that, cultural conditioning aside, there are also inherent differences between men and women, both on a physical and psychological level (liberal outlets would risk getting accused of bigotry for taking something out of the “conservative package”).
But as conservative outlets they are also obligated to undermine the urgency of the environmental crisis, the efficiency of vaccines and the potential benefits of immigration.
Conversely, outlets like The Guardian, which have done a great job reporting on the Covid pandemic and frequently post articles about the need for a transition to renewable energy, will never publish an article about the potential dangers of hormone therapy for children who aspire to become transgender. Why? Because they would be immediately dubbed a right-wing bigoted neo-Nazi propaganda machine and would lose most of their readers and backing, even if the article is 100% backed by science.
In today’s polarized environment, the media understands the package, which drastically waters down any notion of objectivity.
The package in politics
Politicians also understand how the package works. A recent New York Times article highlights how an organized Republican effort is punishing companies for taking action to mitigate climate change. Using the package as a political weapon, fossil fuel companies are encouraging right-wing legislators to put pressure on companies they claim are pushing “woke” causes.
And yet, the term “woke” has more to do with political correctness and is now used pejoratively by conservatives to anyone they consider left-leaning. But what does the idea of divesting from fossil fuels to preserve the future of our planet and our species as a whole have to do with “wokeness”?
A packaged reaction to a deadly pandemic
Another flagrant example of the absurdity of our identity obsession (and the disgraceful package that comes with it) was the not so collective response to the Covid pandemic. Naturally, most people try to avoid death and illness (one would think), yet during the most far-reaching pandemic in modern history, the reasoning behind the choice to get vaccinated to prevent serious illness and death, or not, didn’t stem from the logical drive to survive but whether people identified as liberal or conservative, or what package they are loyal to.
In the US, most of those who refused the vaccine were right-leaning on the political spectrum, and rejecting the jab somehow became a new item in the conservative package, triggering a long list of outspoken conservative anti-vaxxers who died from the virus.
A package for the end of the world
At a time when we face the threat of ecological and existential collapse because of our relentless destruction of the planet, many world leaders refuse to act because they’re afraid to be viewed as “woke”, depending on how they identify politically. God forbid they make a move that isn’t included in the package of their political bubble.
Now we face an even bigger threat, the possibility of a nuclear holocaust brought about by Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine and refuses to compromise because of the items in his own little ideological package.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, our brains haven’t evolved much since our hunter-gatherer days, and they just don’t seem equipped for the realities and complexities of the modern world.
The only advice I can give global leaders, powerful billionaires, media conglomerates, and everyday citizens across the world is to find some of those nonsensical items in your mind, put them back into the package you received years ago, and return to sender.
Perhaps someday a new, upgraded one will come in the mail… priority mail.
If you liked this article, you might like my novel, The Shadow in the Mirror.
Find out what’s actually going on with Harold Hopkins.
Harold’s only wish is to lead a normal life. Yet for reasons he can’t comprehend, he is shunned by all living things. No matter how hard he tries, he is unable to garner attention from the woman he loves, nor can he foster genuine friendships or find a decent job. Meanwhile, since childhood he has been haunted by his own reflection in the mirror, which frequently acts as a window to another world. The person on the other side is everything Harold wishes he could be, like a clone of himself leading the fruitful life he was destined to lead. He finally sets off in search of answers, where he learns about the unearthly events that took place when he was born, and discovers the tantalizing truth about his own existence…
