The Gist 32: Breaking the Social Contract pt. 2

What happens when social groups break apart.

We’re going to continue our talk on social groups and what happens when they break down. Next week, we'll discuss what our horror media has taught us about how to approach and begin to repair this situation.

The Rise of Discord

I’ve made frequent reference to Robin Dunbar’s work, and it’s because it is an invaluable insight into the nature of human beings and our social groupings. I’ll do so again by pointing out that unless humans engage in a kind of social grooming, we feel no obligation towards one another. Once that obligation disappears, once we no longer concern ourselves with the well-being of our neighbors, we tend to become overwhelmed by the stressors of cohabitation, and one of two results usually occurs. A: Splintering - wherein one group separates from the other and starts a new community on their own with like-minded members, or B: Violence and ultimately homicide. Through this lens we view, on a macro scale, the absolute crisis when one group can’t separate from the other.

On the playground, when two kids don’t get along, you can put them in separate areas, and they can just not interact until they learn to cooperate. In relationships, you can go different ways, dissolve the interaction, and live separate lives. In a society as large as a nation, like the US…you simply can’t do this.

The Democracy Problem

When groups with largely different morality, ethics, and social structures inhabit a single space, mutual agreement is the only way to continue forward. Unfortunately, in this country, that agreement (The Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.) that represents the social contract has broken down. It’s a living document, it represents the health of our union, and right now, those agreements are being viewed as what they are - an agreement to abide. Once any party chooses to ignore the contract and pursue its own goals, the entire system breaks down. The natural recourse is a fallback to the last ‘functional’ system. In this case, we see the rise of tribalism.

Us vs Them

Tribalism is marked by a strong and visible devotion to a cause or group. We all engage in tribalism (sports affiliations, social media groups, brand allegiance), and all of this is a normal aspect of human psychology. The healthiness of which depends on specific factors. In social groups, tribalism ventures beyond preference; it becomes existential. The danger is that social groups are specifically organized as a response to perceived danger in the world outside of the group. Anyone outside of the group is automatically categorized as an enemy or a potential enemy. In our society, that leads to viewing a flag on a truck, a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, or a phrase as not just a sign of an ‘unsafe’ individual in daily life, but it signals our mortal safety in public spaces.

Being surrounded, or perceiving being surrounded by ‘others’ triggers a process in our nervous system that was designed for long term, extreme survival. It overclocks our system, reduces essential energy stores, and ultimately, sacrifices long term health for the short term goal. This system evolved for tribe members who found themselves separated from their groups. It gave them the strength and energy to travel long distances and reunite with safety. It was a failsafe, break the glass, emergency response, not a lifestyle. Long-term exposure to this environment can lead to literal system failure and ultimately sickness or death.

These ideologies bring with them another threat, that of psychological death. Humans are designed ot be social. Not just for the community for security. The sense of self is so intrinsically attached to the concept of group dynamics that the psyche of a person metaphorically separated from their own kind mirrors the same kinds of shutdown and ultimately loss of self that the physical body endures in the same situation. The result of this threat signal in the brain is violence, extreme rejection of perceived others, and a primal, often illogical, need to restore balance. Even worse, perhaps, the mind becomes hypervigilant, sorting everyone into ‘good’ or ‘bad’ categories. It increases isolation, polarization, and fear, which increases aggressiveness.

When identity is so twisted around political and religious ideology that it cannot see itself as an individual from that definition, the very existence of a two-party system becomes a threat. The steps from religious nationalism to genocide are few, and they are supported by exactly this structure. It is VERY important to remember that this kind of mental unification doesn’t only exist in religious, conservative circles. ANY group that becomes intolerant of differences can start down this road. That doesn’t obviously include the intolerance of intolerance paradox but highlights that everyone is not going to agree with us, ever, and that’s ok, as long as that disagreement remains a philosophical difference and does not devolve into a primal, reactionary destruction narrative.

Reunification

How do we heal the wound? The short answer is it’s not easy. It’s not something you can put in a tweet or on a shirt or in a simple slogan with a snappy quote. It requires a concerted, love-oriented, dedicated response. Honestly, every situation is different. How an LGBTQIA+ person might handle a family situation vs how a society handles oppressive legislation. The rules are different. How fascism is brought to its knees is different from how neighbors find a way to respect each other’s humanity. The only constant is that love, the desire for peace and well-being of all, must be at the core, but the actions themselves may not always look like ‘loving’ acts. Fascist regimes have never fallen without armed rebellion. Corporate oppression has never been defeated without organized, targeted resistance. Fear has never been defeated by violent response; only compassion and empathy can do that, but that doesn’t mean naively approaching violent people with hopes and dreams. Practicality dictates more intelligent movement. The answers are complex, but…this is not our first time down this road, and our ancestors kept notes.

Next week, we’re going to look at some specific situations and how our horror media has outlined what does and what definitely does not work.

The Gist:

Coming together is not going to be easy and will require great restraint, the abandonment of ‘fair’ in favor of the greater good, and a resolve to do the right, positive thing at every possible turn.

Cryptid: Our shoot is on hold. I hope to return to it at the end of the summer, but losing the lead, increased responsibilities among our team, and a family tragedy of my own have made it clear that sometimes we have to step back, regroup, and do what’s best for everyone.

Gestalt Media will shift focus full-time to completing projects in the pipeline to give us a clean slate going forward. None of this is ever easy, and we’ve learned to be flexible. It’s always worth it.

“Understand that you cannot apply equal energy to everything. Be conscious of your immediate goals and operate accordingly.” — Create & Cultivate