Play Book Tag discussion

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger - 3* - My Review

“Acting in a tribal way simply means being willing to make a substantive sacrifice for your community.”

Sebastian Junger examines the premise that the deterioration in western society’s sense of community has contributed to the rise of PTSD (and a host of other social issues). He starts with the American Indians and provides historical instances of Europeans abandoning society to live with tribal societies. He moves on to cite examples of people coming together during natural disasters, wars, and other societal breakdowns.

Junger believes that cultivating tribal behaviors can result in improvements to mental health, reduce violent crimes, and reduce fraud. As a journalist, the author has operated near the front lines in conflicts across the world in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia. He provides examples from his experience that support his point of view.

“A modern soldier returning from combat…goes from the kind of close-knit group that humans evolved for, back into a society where most people work outside the home, children are educated by strangers, families are isolated from their communities, and personal gain almost completely eclipses collective good.”

Junger admits that he is not attempting scholarly proof. Many of his examples are anecdotal. Junger takes a “scattershot” approach and relies a bit too heavily on sweeping generalizations. Overall, I think it is an intentionally provocative book with some interesting ideas but not a lot of hard evidence.