The American Right's Tribalism

Feb 1st, 2011

In an interesting piece on the disconnected devotionalism of the American conservative fringe, Charles Johnson writes: 

"Within the tribe there's no need to be concerned with facts or accuracy; if the goal is to demonize a hated opponent, for example, anything and everything goes, including smears known to be false. That's because the objective is not to convince an impartial observer -- it's to reinforce the tribal bonds, the sense of belonging to something, with its own shared reality. That shared reality doesn't have to reflect actual reality; anybody who doesn't share it is by definition not part of the tribe, and therefore an enemy."

To the Becks, the Gellers, the Gaffneys, etc..., I'd say Mr. Johnson has you pegged.