Aristotle makes everything awesome: American Patriotism vs Somali Tribalism

Like most Ricochetti, I am mildly pro-tribal. I believe you should have a particular love for your own family, your own community, and your own heritage and state. The utopian argument against tribal particularism is a philosophy for Angels or multi-headed Buddhist gods. Immortal entities that possess great powers, who don't need others to survive and flourish, can focus on an absolute justice beyond any particular tradition. But humans need something beyond themselves.

In terms of charity, the utopian argument says that an American in Buffalo, New York should care as much about a poor person in Peru as she should a poor person in her own city. First, it's fundamentally against human nature to care about people who are far away, and secondly, it's very difficult to help people far away. I personally know next to nothing about Peru, as do most non-Peruvians. But I know a bit about the city where I live, and I know other people who know tons about my own city. Ergo, it is practical to focus on where I live. Thusly, having a love for things closer to me can make me a more effective person.

In Catholicism, charity is largely focused on this idea and they call it localism. Their charity programs emerge from the ground up to serve the local community. Mormons are similar with their food banks. However, both groups also have charity campaigns focused on poorer populations further away.

In terms of mental health, I think it's good to feel like part of something greater than yourself. Iterations of the more extreme libertarianism, where you are an atomized individual that isn't connected to anything else, are only found in the West. As far as I know, the idea that one is a pure individual that ought to be free from every tradition and familial obligation would be laughable in every society up until the French Enlightenment.* I'm not denying the significance of the individual or individual dignity. That's been part of the Judeo-Christian tradition since Jews wrote down that humanity was made in G-d's image. But Judaism and Christianity assumed for millennia that one was a part of a larger community. Being part of a community is how humanity is built.

I like that Native Americans are proud of their particular tribe's history, that Chinese love the odd local cuisine from their particular region of China, and that Germans like to drink the same beer their grandfather drank. It's a charming part of humanity that gives a unique flavor to different populations.

Germans can still cook Chinese food if they want to, though, and Chinese can drink German beer. As a matter of fact, German beer is considered quite chic in China (especially in Dongbei province, which is home to the Qingdao brewery). I would feel that something would be lost if Germans stopped drinking beer and eating sausage, but I see no reason why they should not order flower pepper from Sichuan and try out different recipes.

So, to summarize, I am a mild fan of tribalism and localism. Like me, Joy Nordlinger wrote about observing the Filipino Crew Show on a National Review cruise.

‐On the ship, I attend the Filipino Crew Show, fairly late at night. They sing various songs and dance various dances — all of a national character. In everything they do, they’re perfectly sincere, which counts for a lot. They also have a lot of fun — which counts too, for their fun is infectious.

They sing their national anthem, and wave their flag. I find myself moved by this. They’re far from home, and they obviously love their country.

You know what I mean, I trust, when I say that other people’s anthems, and other people’s patriotism, can be moving. Everyone recognizes the impulse. There is patriotic love — “true patriot love,” as one anthem says — the same as there are other kinds of love.

Of course, patriotism, nationalism, anthems, all that — it can be quite sinister. Depends, right?

Among the most sinister kinds of in-group preference is the strange love that Somalis have for their own tribe and country. In Buffalo, Somalis lifted a Somali flag right next to an American Flag. They were outside a government building to celebrate Somalia's national day.

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This is perplexing as America is one of the best countries in the world, while Somalia is one of the worst countries in the world. (I would argue that America is the best country in the world because we have the strongest traditions of freedom of speech, but that's a topic for another essay.)

While there are obviously individual Somalis who are great people, Somalians have the highest rates of crime, rape and welfare abuse. Somalia itself is known as a noxious hub of terrorism. That is why the Somalian's love of things Somali irritates me. When my ancestors fled Russia for a better life, they did not try to start up serfdom again. Somalis flee one of the worst places on Earth and then try to replicate it. They make rich and safe countries poor and dangerous. The difficulties of Somali immigrants in Buffalo and in Minnesota are replicated in Britain and Australia

All my life, I have heard from the left that patriotism is nothing more than your mother's food, an irrational sentiment to be disregarded in favor of universal reason and Scandinavian welfare programs. Religion itself was suspect because it inevitably led to intergroup violence. Yet when Somalis wish to separate themselves based on ethnicity, practice a religion that supports terrorism, and wreck welfare programs for poor and disabled people, they are given a pass because they vote for the left.

In conclusion, patriotism or tribal particularism is like testosterone for men. Too little creates weaknesses and health problems but too much makes an individual violent and ugly. Aristotle's golden mean is, as always, applicable.

Speaking of Aristotle, the Hellenistic tradition of critical inquiry is complementary to in-group preference. In-group preference is emotional, and it’s often fervently emotional. The fiery nature of in-group preference needs to be tempered by logic to hammer out the sinister imperfections.

The Greeks had a story of a smith god named Hephaestus who lived inside a volcano and used the primal energy of the Earth to create perfectly balanced weapons and all manner of ingenious tools to forge a better civilization. What Hephaestus’s hammer did to molten metal, Greek logic can do to our souls’ natural inclinations.

Like most people, I enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of July 4th celebrations and America's history of freedom and innovation. I felt happy to be part of a tradition that helped beat back Nazism and Communism. Hopefully, we can integrate Cuba into the capitalist free market and help them establish a government that secures the rights of life, liberty and property, as we have done for others before. If we maintain our traditions of free speech and critical rationality, we can reject the extremes of tribal savagery and utopian nonsense for another 250 years.

*The Scottish Enlightenment is the good enlightenment as it secured economic growth, individual rights and scientific advancements without driving everybody crazy.