I Have a Small Tribe

I have a small tribe.  Five children, four of them married with wonderful spouses and eight grandchildren, so far.  My Mom came from a family of eleven and my Dad from a smaller family, only nine.  That’s eighteen aunts and uncles, then their spouses and then cousins.  Every Sunday we were at one grandmother’s or the other.  A small home jam-packed with people and a table piled high with food.  Forget about it!  A good Italian tribe spawned in New York City and now spread all over the country.  However, most members are still within 100 miles of the Big Apple.  So what, you say.   

You don’t need a genealogy lesson on my family.  You’re right.  My point is maybe life was simpler then.  Maybe the 1920s and 30’s, when my parents were growing up, was not so easy.  But they were not alone.  They had tribe.  Even before the turn of the last century, farmers and their neighboring communities had tribe.  The industrial revolution has accomplished many great things, but I think it departmentalized people into specific jobs and there was little or no interaction in the workplace.

There was no tribe at work.  Then the tribe at home began to break up.  The younger warriors and their squaws moved across the country in search of better hunting grounds.  It became more difficult to connect with the tribe of origin, so new connections were made, new tribes formed.  At work, cubicles took over the interior work-scape and if you succeeded in your quest, the young warrior was rewarded with four walls and a door.  More isolation.  No tribe at work.  At least, the tribe was not interactive.

During the first quality revolution in the1970-80’s, some companies found value in bringing employees together to discuss issues and solve problems.  Quality Circles, brainstorming and Total Quality Management relied on tribe, the wisdom of the elders and the young working together.  But it did not last.  It did not catch on, like wildfire, like I thought it would.  Many companies dropped their tribal programs and many other companies have never adopted them.

Is it any wonder why social media is catching on?  People want tribe.  Deprived of it at work, they strive to establish virtual tribes, globally, for either economic or social purposes.  Tribe is in our DNA, not recluse!  So why do we fail to recognize that and continue to work alone when we do not have to.  Socializing could be scary and there is certainly safety in the anonymity of a virtual avatar.  But I believe we NEED socializing to grow.  Grow personally and within the tribe and for growth throughout the tribal nation.  We need to work together and hunt together.  We need to be together for economic, social, physical, emotional and spiritual support.

I want tribe!  I want more tribe! And I’m going on the peace-path to find more tribe.  How about you “Kimosabee?”