Let’s talk about Tribe by Sebastian Junger, one of my favorite books that gets to the heart of why community is a core part of what it means to be human. Thread! 🧵 
Junger starts out by talking about his own experiences fumbling into adulthood. When you grow up in monotony, a desire for liminal experiences can be incredibly strong.
What the author didn’t realize at the time is that liminal experiences don’t happen in solitude. They happen *communally*. We thrive when we’re together, even if the situation is a crisis!
If we’re built to share our lives with others, why do we live such isolated lives? Well, agriculture and industry changed what it meant to be human. Modern society lets you live a life “surrounded by others and yet feel deeply, dangerously alone.”
We’ve reoriented society to favor building wealth but it’s clear that wealth has no real impact on happiness — especially when you *expect* it to! Modern day society with all its amenities actually works to disconnect us from the experiences we’re inherently made to partake in.
Not only have we disconnected from what’s important, we champion the things which have FOR ALL OF HISTORY been seen as abhorrent. “What tribal people would consider a profound betrayal of the group, modern society simply dismisses as fraud.”
This is an incredible story about WWII and human resilience that I think about often. I’ll just let you read it for yourself:
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
