I AM AN ECHO CHAMBER: THE BASIS OF TRIBALISM

Book excerpt: Americans are becoming increasingly tribalistic. It's not just Republicans vs. Democrats, it's brown vs. white, college educated vs. blue collar folks, the coasts vs. the midwest, gay vs. straight, rich vs. poor, believers in science vs. non-believers, facts vs. fake news, sexual predators vs. me-too-ers, foreign businesses vs. American businesses, Trumpists vs. never Trumpers. Why?It's easy and convenient to blame President Trump, but he is more a catalyst than a cause of the problem. He is one of the factors that are outside of us as human beings, as is income inequality, immigration, racism and advancing technology. These exogenous causes of tribalism in their various forms occupy a huge slice of the daily news cycle.Most people, if presented with the phrase "echo chamber," will associate it with left- or right-leaning media networks (MSNBC and FOX respectively). Each side broadcasts news and opinions, over and over, that agrees with their slant, and ignores or underrepresents views that are opposed. And we humans not only passively inhale one-sided information, we actively seek out news which is consistent with what we believe and interact with people who agree with us, whether in real life or on social media. Time and repetition harden our views.But here's the wrinkle¿in general, how often do we change our minds about¿anything? Not often, and only with great difficulty. We hold beliefs that are extremely resistant to change, be they related to politics and religion, devotion to a sports team or musical genre, or even favorite cuisine or style of dress. The way we humans are wired, comprised of a nexus of beliefs or constructs, self-interest honed by evolution, and logical thinking, serve to make each of us fairly predictable and not very open to change. We are, each of us, our own unique one-off echo chamber.