Stories seem to play a huge role in uniting people into a common cause. For example, biblical myths unite people in religion, patriot stories unite countries, partisan stories unite political parties, etc. In an argument, we emotionally attach ourselves to our side of the story. And since all stories are inaccurate and incomplete, we essentially hold on emotionally to a story that supports our interests as we see them.
We use stories to unite ourselves with our tribe. Today, democrats unite themselves into a tribe by talking about how bad Trump is. Republicans unite behind the story of how bad Hillary is. If I make a comment about any issue on a conservative biased group on FB I will be dismissed as a xxxx liberal. Seldom does anyone say anything about the issue I am trying to discuss.
I can't believe this tribalism is good for anyone in our country. But, how do we realize that we are bound to "a story" that stereotypes the other tribe? We do not see them as individuals are even being more than their allegiance to their political tribe. How do go from where we are to sitting down and having meaningful conversations with the "other tribe" or the "them" in the "us and them story"? #stories #tribalism