Political Anthropology

Why are Americans so vulnerable to a character like Trump? America evolved a democratic culture under rule of law that has survived hundreds of years! To date, no candidate for President of the United States has ever been so unqualified for the job. How did the star of “CELEBRITY APPRENTICE” get to be the model for a President?

Years ago, teaching a graduate class, I challenged my students to try to imagine what the first words might have been as humans dealt with the evolution of language. “Ma” was frequent, even “Da”. “No, said a friend. The first word was RUN!”

Run is what a lot of Americans must feel like doing right now. The Trump propaganda machine emphasizes every rotten scary feeling we have ever had. He sets himself up as the only person to “save America” from immigrants, NATO, the Iran nuclear agreement, Mexico and Hillary Clinton and President Obama. He makes threats constantly, but has offered no concrete evidence of planning, experience, or character. He yells transparency and refuses to make his income taxes (probably lack of them) public.

In textbook anthropology members of a tribe are set apart by relationships, location, beliefs, inheritance, language, and custom. Tribal behavior includes resisting change, resisting sharing outside the tribal boundaries, and resisting facts at variance with tribal authority. The desire to do so may cause one to take more extreme actions than what would seem necessary just to maintain control.

Trump supporters seem like an isolated tribe, wary of outsiders, focused on protecting their stuff, and quick to blame anyone “different” for all their troubles. These folks cheer at macho blather, and regard threatening talk as a plan for action. Certainly racism is a factor. Despite all the evidence of good economic growth throughout America, tribal loyalists blame President Obama for growth they did not personally experience. It’s a dilemma, but that is how it is.

To members of the “Trump Tribe”, questions are dangerous. Believers must shout “hurray!” or violence will ensue. Their tribal loyalty demands that followers accept manufactured dogma as truth. Neuroscientist-linguist Stephen Pinker has pointed out that the acquisition of knowledge is hard for everybody. The world of politics does not go out of its way to explain truth where truth is required. School civics just doesn’t seem to do it either. If it did Trump wouldn’t be possible.

By anyone’s explanation, the human mind is prone to fallacies, and superstitions. Trump is not the first to state lies and claim the truth! We don’t seem to have learned to recognize error or to dismiss blatant publicity as a source of reliable information.

To “make good political decisions”, every American must cultivate skepticism, questions, debate and science. And it has to be safe to do so. In a tribe, ostracism is a terrible penalty; holding a different opinion invites trouble. Nobody wants to be outside the gates. So come on in. Share. America at its best has always been inclusive, curious, and generous. We are still one America, no matter what a TV reality show character with no experience that matters says we are or should be.

Democrats certainly share some “tribal” features with the opposing party. But there are genuine philosophical differences between Republicans and Democrats, particularly in acknowledging science, the value of government, and demands for equal treatment under the law. Democrats are adamantly more concerned with including people in than shutting people out. Despite all this it is far too easy for both parties to get stuck, the Republicans in swearing ‘no more’ and the Democrats shouting ‘not enough’.

Why not promote a tribe (Democrats, Independents and Rational Republicans) that does science, economics, history, and equity under the law, asks questions and demonstrates skepticism?

Loyalty without question never has to be the bottom line.

Ann Melby Shenkle

Doylestown, PA 18901