Two quotes and two question:
“Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” ~Albert Einstein
“I think that we reject the evidence that our world is changing because we are still, as that wonderfully wise biologist E. O. Wilson reminded us, tribal carnivores. We are programmed by our inheritance to see other living things as mainly something to eat, and we care more about our national tribe than anything else. We will even give our lives for it and are quite ready to kill other humans in the cruelest ways for the good of our tribe. We still find alien the concept that we and the rest of the life, from bacteria to whales, are part of the much larger and diverse entity, the living Earth.”
(Conditioned by a Tribal Mindset, The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climatic Crises & The Fate of Humanity, James Lovelock, 2006)
- Do you agree/disagree with either quote?
- What do you think helps contribute to a consciousness that can transcend tribal/national limitations?
Here’s an interesting quote related to this issue from the research of Aron, et. al:
“This research supports the claim that people are, at times, motivated to develop cross-group friendships, and these relationships with members of other groups generally lead not only to prejudice reduction but also to opportunities for self-expansion and positive affect. Given that the research suggests that there is such an appetitive interest in other groups, it seems timely to consider reevaluating our current thinking about the range of emotions that might be experienced during intergroup interactions. While tolerance has been the main goal of many intergroup relation programs, a more comprehensive model of intergroup attitudes and emotions might allow us to properly seek the conditions under which we might expect truly positive outcomes, such as respect, trust, liking, admiration, or even compassionate love.”
(“Compassionate Love for Individuals in Other Social Groups” by Aron, et. al., The Science of Compassionate Love, Blackwell Publishers)