Meeting of the Minds,June 5, 2017

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   The subject for the day’s discussion was identity. What is identity and what accounts for our fascination with it?  In essence, identity is a metaphysical concept related to our very existence. We tend to be obsessed with ourselves, whether it is as individuals, or as members of a group such as a family, a religion or a nation. The differences between these forms of identity are important with major existential consequences. .

   Our personal identity is formed at a young age as influenced by our families.  As we grow older we are affected by the jobs we hold and group identities such the schools we attend, the religions we practice, and finally the nations we inhabit. Global identity is defined as what it means to be a citizen of the world. This type of identity is the most complex and both broaden us as individuals and at the same time threatens our sense of self.  The resolution of these conflicts determine whether we are content with ourselves and whether we seek peace or war

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    Earl opened the discussion with a consideration of a New York Times Opinion piece authored by John Brodies, who considered personal and group identities as the motivation for the shootings of republican legislators at a baseball practice in Virginia. The notion that the group we identify with is good and other groups are bad is instilled in our psyches and is responsible for intergroup rivalry and war.

   There was then a brief discussion as to what constitutes personal and group identity and is identity stable over time. This brought us to a discussion of Jewishness.  The fact that Judaism is both a religion and an ethnic designation help us to understand identity.  Judaism has been assumed to be a firmly held identity, rooted in the myth of the Abrahamic covenant. The covenant established the Jews as a group chosen by God to receive the land of Israel and His eternal blessings. Nothing was required in return. However, since the holocaust many Jews have felt that God went back on his word and thus they lost faith in the covenant and in God himself.  Nonetheless Jewish identity persists and is rooted in traditions and cultural factors rather than divine belief.

   Our discussions then proceeded to recall how Durkheim applied the concept of religion as a contribution to our group identities.  Durkheim, who was a sociologist and atheist, posited that man invented religion to provide the cohesion of society.  Society in turn was charged with preserving religion.  In his book Elementary Forms of Religious Life, published in 1912, Durkheim looked back to primitive societies to uncover the source of religion. He described how totemism was used to cement the society. Since the totems were unique to each society, people prayed to the totems and were willing to sacrifice their lives to preserve them. With the diminishment of religion, the notion of an object representing society persisted. Thus the flag became a secular stand-in for a religious symbol. Importantly, men were willing to risk their lives to protect the flag.

    The discussion then went on to globalization as a force in our society.  All do not agree upon the meaning of globalization. To some it means free trade and to others types of world government, such as the League of Nations or the United Nations. John Lennon went further and suggested that we could imagine a totally unified world, with no governmental or ethnic barriers.  

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

   Lennon thus described a notion of globalism that was an earthly paradise, in his words a dream. Lennon’s notion of globalism is perpetual love and peace. Despite the inspiring lyrics, globalism is a mixed blessing.  It leads to greater understanding amongst peoples and yet it asserts a destabilizing effect on individual societies. In our case, open borders and free immigration is a threat to some parts of our population but not to others, thus creating a rent in our national psyche. Immigration does not represent a threat to the coastal elites who can tolerate less skilled workers. On the contrary, the workers in the Midwest, who are well paid but unskilled are threatened by immigrants willing to work at their jobs at lower wages. This situation nurtures an authoritarian approach to unification. Trump, who understood this dynamic, was willing to sacrifice the stability and meaning of the country for his own political and personal gain. It has also been observed that globalization may lead to interference in other nations national elections.  Russia used cyber attacks to alter voting patterns to favor he election of candidates favorable to their regime. Globalization is a mixed blessing, both benefiting and threatening all societies,

   Ultimately the discussion was centered around the concept of how to talk to people we do not know or like. We agreed that we must not demean such people and assume that they are a source of evil.  Insightful guidance can be found in Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s book “ In My Own Words” where she revealed the secret to a happy marriage, viz.  Be deaf.  A more artful bit of advice can be found in Luke 6:27-31:

But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

Posted by Arthur Banner