{"id":41202,"date":"2025-03-13T23:47:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T06:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41202"},"modified":"2025-04-09T07:44:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T14:44:15","slug":"engaging-our-software-overcoming-tribal-instincts-for-a-shared-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/engaging-our-software-overcoming-tribal-instincts-for-a-shared-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Our \u2018Software\u2019: Overcoming Tribal Instincts for a Shared Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

I grew up in Los Angeles, California, in a pastor’s home where the vision for a multicultural church, united by faith in Jesus, was central to our community. It wasn’t until I was in junior high, attending a school where I was one of the few white students, that I began to understand what it meant to be ‘different.’ My pale complexion often sparked questions like, ‘Why are you so white?’ A question I still ask myself every summer when I can’t seem to get a tan.<\/span><\/p>\n

My understanding of race used to be simple\u2014I believed we were all just human. But when I moved from Los Angeles to the Northeastern region of the country, I was confronted with Confederate flags and comments about how ‘dark’ my new neighborhood was. It felt completely foreign, a stark contrast to the inclusive environment I had grown up in, and left me feeling both uncomfortable and confused.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, I live in a country where tribal identity shapes every aspect of life\u2014dictating lineage, destiny, marriage, and even employment. In conversations, talk of tribes is constant. Recently, a friend engaged to be married didn\u2019t first mention love, but rather, her fianc\u00e9\u2019s lineage: \u201cHe comes from a good tribe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This environment has deepened my understanding of how identity\u2014whether racial or tribal\u2014profoundly shapes our interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Coleman Hughes’ The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> presents a distinct perspective, my firsthand experiences have revealed the deep-rooted impact of tribalism and its regressive effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

In The End of Race Politics<\/em>, Coleman Hughes critiques what he describes as the rise of neo-racism in American government, education, media, and beyond. Rather than endorsing race-conscious policies, Hughes proposes an alternative approach: colorblindness<\/em><\/strong>.[1]<\/a> He clarifies, \u201cTo advocate colorblindness <\/em>is not to pretend you don\u2019t notice race. To advocate colorblindness is to endorse an ethical principle: The colorblind principle: we should treat people without regard to race, both in our public policy and in our private lives.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Hughes also challenges the very foundations of racial categorization, arguing that race is an arbitrary construct.[3]<\/a> He writes, \u201cWe choose to delineate race using an arbitrary rule that was originally developed to uphold racial apartheid.\u201d[4]<\/a> Expanding on this, he asserts, \u201cI think race is irrelevant to the things we care most about in life, and dividing people by race is an obstacle to realizing this dream. In my ideal future, the people of this country would be so busy pursuing the things that really matter that we might go weeks or months at a time without ever thinking about the concept of race.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Something confirmed: the need to engage our \u201csoftware\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s humbling to be reminded of how deeply ingrained our biases are. Confronting this reality is challenging, yet through my experiences living in different countries, I\u2019ve encountered these tendencies within myself\u2014especially when faced with something unfamiliar or different from what I\u2019m accustomed to. I believe there is a need for an alternative. When I reflect on our “hardware”\u2014our natural inclinations\u2014versus our “software,” I recognize that my instincts can be overridden by a vision similar to Hughes’. His vision is for a society \u201cthat instead embraces our common humanity<\/strong>, one that recognizes that the way to move closer to achieving the goals we care about together is not by revitalizing race thinking but by extracting ourselves from its grip and ensuring our policies and institutions embody a commitment to colorblindness.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

I believe that embracing our shared humanity is the “software” that can override our innate tribal instincts, a concept that Hughes affirms through his insights. It reminds me of Brett Fuller\u2019s words in Dreaming in Black and White<\/em>: \u201cWe are called upon to use our gifts to lift those of every color and ethnicity, nationality and gender, to the heights for which they are made.\u201d[7]<\/a> His prayer hits home for me: \u201cLord, if you are going to give me opportunity to pastor a church, please make it look more like heaven than like me.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

That is my prayer as well: Lord, if you\u2019re giving me the chance to serve the people of North Africa, please make it look more like heaven than like me.<\/span><\/p>\n

And what does heaven look like? We are all familiar with the powerful vision in Revelation 7:9: \u201cAfter this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge is to engage our “software”\u2014our common humanity\u2014moving beyond our natural instincts and embracing colorblindness, fostering relationships that transcend these boundaries and unite us in our shared purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Something challenged: our inbuilt tribal instinct <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As someone researching intercultural collaboration in regions like North Africa\u2014and the factors that either foster or hinder it\u2014I am deeply interested in the nature of identity and its influence on our interactions and experiences with others. However, I was unaware of just how deeply ingrained our tribal instincts are. Hughes writes, \u201cHumans have an inbuilt tribal instinct\u2014a tendency to identify strongly with a group, to aim empathy inward toward its members and suspicion and hatred outward. That tendency appears to be baked into each of us at a biological level. That is our \u2018hardware.\u2019\u201d[9]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding our natural tendencies, Michael A. Hogg and Dominic Abrams, in Social Identifications<\/em>, expand on social psychologist Henri Tajfel\u2019s social identity theory<\/em>, arguing that society is organized around social categories that are deeply embedded within hierarchical power and status structures.[10]<\/a> These categorizations are comprised of what is called the in-group <\/em>and out-group. <\/em>They further explain that \u201cby differentiating ingroup<\/em> from outgroup<\/em> on dimensions on which the ingroup <\/em>falls at the evaluatively positive pole, the ingroup<\/em> acquires a positive distinctiveness, and thus a relatively positive social identity in comparison to the outgroup.\u201d[11]<\/a> In other words, individuals derive a sense of belonging and self-worth by identifying with their in-group<\/em> while distinguishing themselves from those outside it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anthropologist William Graham Sumner, who coined the term ethnocentrism<\/em>[12]<\/a>,writes in Folkways<\/em>, \u201cThe insiders in a we-group<\/em> are in a relation of peace, order, law, government, and industry, to each other. Their relation to all outsiders, or others-groups<\/em>, is one of war and plunder, except so far as agreements have modified it.\u201d[13]<\/a>This highlights how group identity not only fosters internal cohesion but also shapes perceptions of outsiders\u2014often reinforcing division, conflict, and a sense of superiority.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I reflect on my experiences, my current convictions have crystallized around the idea that our identities\u2014whether shaped by race, tribe, or other categories\u2014profoundly influence how we relate to others. Growing up in a multicultural environment, I initially believed that race was a simple, irrelevant distinction. However, as I’ve encountered different perspectives and lived in diverse contexts, I\u2019ve come to recognize the deep-rooted ways in which tribalism and racial categorization shape our societies and interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hughes\u2019 perspective on colorblindness resonates with me, but I also see the complexity of how tribal instincts are ingrained in our very nature. Our human tendency to gravitate toward in-groups, as Hughes points out, is often at odds with the ideal of embracing our common humanity. However, the vision of a world where we transcend these divisions\u2014much like the heavenly vision in Revelation 7:9\u2014remains a guiding vision for me. I believe that engaging our “software” of shared humanity can help us rise above the divisive forces of tribalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

The path forward lies in consciously choosing to engage our shared humanity, transcending the divisions that have historically separated us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> The aim of colorblindness is to consciously disregard race as a reason to treat individuals differently and as a category on which to base public policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u00a0Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), 19, Kindle edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> The Eisenhower administration needed to come up with race categories to implement its policies and decided on a perfunctory list. But it was the Carter administration that finally decided on the canonical list of five categories we use today: Black, Hispanic, White, Asian\/Pacific Islander, Native American\/Alaska Native.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), 20, Kindle edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), 20, Kindle edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), 24, Kindle edition<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Brett Fuller, Dreaming in Black and White<\/em> (Chantilly, VA: BookBaby, 2021), 156, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Brett Fuller, Dreaming in Black and White<\/em> (Chantilly, VA: BookBaby, 2021), 54, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Coleman Hughes, The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America<\/em> (New York: Penguin Press, 2024), 25, Kindle edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Michael A. Hogg and Dominique Abrams, Social Identifications: A Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations and Group Processes<\/em> (London: Routledge, 1988), 36, Kindle Edition.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Michael A. Hogg and Dominique Abrams, Social Identifications: A Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations and Group Processes (London: Routledge, 1988), 51, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Ethnocentrism<\/em> explicitly involves the belief in the superiority of one\u2019s own group.<\/span><\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> William Graham Sumner, Folkways: A Study of Mores, Manners, Customs, and Morals<\/em> (New York: Ginn & Company, 1906), 8, Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I grew up in Los Angeles, California, in a pastor’s home where the vision for a multicultural church, united by faith in Jesus, was central to our community. It wasn’t until I was in junior high, attending a school where I was one of the few white students, that I began to understand what it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2979,2843],"class_list":["post-41202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlpg03","tag-hughes","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41202"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41223,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41202\/revisions\/41223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}