Lines of tribe
July 3rd 2010 07:58
I was recently reading Barack Obama's Inaugural Address
and this statement caught my eye ...
"believe ... that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve;"
As a historian I have noticed to dissolve those lines of tribes and forge and renew national identities commonalties of culture language and religion and community have to be strengthened.
The Ancient Athenians lessened differences between coastal plains and hills based clans and aristocracy and farmers by re arranging voting groups into brotherhoods and cross linking groups from different areas of Attica.
The ancient Egyptians and Han did it by strengthening central control over regional and promoting bureacrats from the lower classes to change power alignments.
The Romans by extending citizenship to neighbours.
In Australia we had less regional differences but we have have a split between country and city and the descendants of older and newer migrant groups.
Football soccer and other sports often just create new lines of tribes.
How do we soften those lines of difference and still create national unity?
and this statement caught my eye ...
"believe ... that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve;"
As a historian I have noticed to dissolve those lines of tribes and forge and renew national identities commonalties of culture language and religion and community have to be strengthened.
The Ancient Athenians lessened differences between coastal plains and hills based clans and aristocracy and farmers by re arranging voting groups into brotherhoods and cross linking groups from different areas of Attica.
The ancient Egyptians and Han did it by strengthening central control over regional and promoting bureacrats from the lower classes to change power alignments.
The Romans by extending citizenship to neighbours.
In Australia we had less regional differences but we have have a split between country and city and the descendants of older and newer migrant groups.
Football soccer and other sports often just create new lines of tribes.
How do we soften those lines of difference and still create national unity?
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