Humans are dumb. We are basic creature who want to believe we have evolved, yet we are still primal and emotional. When push comes to shove, we ignore what we know to be true and fall back on what makes us feel… feel safe, feel happy, feel powerful. That is dumb because we will ignore reality for a false feeling of comfort.
“The ‘us vs. them’ tribalism is a hard-wired psychological mechanism where humans rapidly divide the world into in-groups (those like us) and out-groups (the ‘others’). While this instinct originally evolved for survival, resource sharing, and mutual defense, it frequently manifests as prejudice, political polarization, and exclusion in modern society.”
There are several thoughts that come to mind regarding this idea:
Under stress, the human brain conserves cognitive energy by shifting control from the prefrontal cortex to deeper, habit-based regions. This leads people to abandon new, deliberate practices and default to ingrained habits, primitive coping mechanisms, or earlier developmental behaviors (a phenomenon known as emotional or age regression).
The “Four F” Trauma Responses
When pushed past their baseline, people will typically default to one of four survival instincts:
- Fight: Becoming highly defensive, explosive, or controlling.
- Flight: Abruptly avoiding or fleeing the stressful situation.
- Freeze: Shutting down entirely and struggling to make decisions.
- Fawn: Attempting to appease, people-please, or placate the source of stress to avoid conflict.
This is important when discussion the US vs THEM because the tribalism mentality is honestly an emotional response. It is something taught to us, using our basic fears to trigger behaviors. If we thought rationally, we would overcome the prejudices inherent to this phenomena. For me, this is proven whenever you see the world pull together seamlessly when faced with a global threat. Innately, we understand we are ONE species, dependent upon each out and our ONE world. Yet, shit on each other constantly. Why?
I think it is important to remember that stress is a physiology response. However, one can learn to modify their behavior and reprogram their brains. It takes time and effort, but it is do-able, not to mention, worth it. It will make our world a better place and our people healthier.
Recognizing that our initial response might be a chemical reaction instead of a logical one may help us to take a moment of pause. This is all we need to adjust one’s response. I know this first hand from partaking in both behavioral and cognitive therapy. It helps you to understand WHY you are feeling what you are, WHAT is triggering you or your specific reaction to the situation, and allows you tools to cope with HOW to respond appropriately in the moment.
J.M. NORTHUP 