There’s a lot of talk nowadays about building a “tribe”, a gang, a group, and all of that. And I think it’s great and that’s it’s needed and that it’s a step up from where the discussion was for most a few years ago. However there’s also a lot of things that get missed when we’re talking about all of this. For example what actually constitutes a tribe or more accurately a community? Is it a bunch of guys hanging out? Is it people who share a patch or flag? Or is it something different? Something more?
Truth be told I don’t know what the official answer to that question is, I’m no sociologist or whoever classified these things. But with that being said there are some things that I think are worth addressing when it comes to building a community, a real vibrant and workable community. Times are changing and I think this is something that is going to become more and more important especially in disintegrating countries like the United States or much of Western Europe.
Regardless of where you live I think we can all agree that living in a place with a functioning and healthy community and culture is far better than living in a place where neither is present. So with that being said what goes into all of this? What makes a tribe, a home, a community? And so on and so forth. We throw these terms around a lot but I feel they’re losing meaning because of it. Sort of like saying everyone is “family”, it doesn’t make sense. So let’s dive in.
A Community Vs A Group
So like we were talking about above what does it mean to have a tribe and the like? Is a tribe a group of guys that hang out and talk about sports and cars every weekend? Is it a group of guys who fight and go in the woods together? What is it? If by tribe we’re talking about community then it’s a whole lot more than that. A community has men, women and children. Young and old. And the like. It has common goals, common thoughts, and promotes a common culture. A community can be a small town, a neighborhood, or a “compound” piece of land where a few families live.
It can be many different things. But there are things that it is not. It’s not a bunch of guys hanging out. Not to say that’s a bad thing when geared towards productive ends but it’s not a community. It’s not random people or families living in the same area. I lived places where there were many families crammed in and one another and the last thing on earth we had there was community. Likewise I’ve lived places where people lived literally miles apart and yet there was community there. So it’s not just physical proximity either. It’s something more.
Common culture and common goals are also part of this as well. Everyone moving in the same direction. This generally means people sharing general religious beliefs, ideological beliefs, cultural beliefs, and having homogeneous traits in other factors as well. Not always but that helps to create community, to create tribe. Like minded people living in close proximity that have as many things as possible binding them together.
How To Create Community
You need a couple of different things, two primary ones being space and like minded individuals. Or maybe individuals is the wrong word here, or at least not the best word. Like minded families is even better. A bunch of guys who all agree on things living in the woods is not really a community. So space is something that I’ve talked about before, though not in this context. When I talk about moving I talk about finding like minded people, people who are like you, and a culture that you can thrive in. Which may require changing geography.
Not because it’s the actual geography that matters (don’t move somewhere for the weather, that’s foolishness) but because different peoples and therefore different cultures inhabit different geographical locations. Another idea is buy land, usually lots of it, somewhere cheap, and start a community. This is generally done on a smaller scale with a family that’s somewhat close and like minded. Where they’ll all go in on a certain amount of land and live there allowing children and many hope, grandchildren to live there as well. Forming a mini village of sorts.
There are also religious communities if that suits one. So space but also like minded people. Where does one find liked minded people? This is a complicated topic and I recommend addressing the space part first. For example you might live in a city you hate and find like minded people but if you’re going to be required to move soon then what good is that going to do? They’re not all going to move with you most likely. So be someone close to where you want to be before focusing on finding like minded people. Internet, hobbies, local community places like churches work as well.
Establishing A “Home Base”
I’m sorry this article is more prescriptive, if that’s the right term. I can’t tell you move to X and invite Y to move with you or anything of that matter. All I can do is outline these things and you use them as you will. Community is something that is going to become more and more important with each passing day. If you’re somewhere you hate culturally but stay because of the weather or because you’ve been there forever you may be in for a rude awakening and sometime soon.
One many, no matter how much of a “lone wolf” or whatever he thinks he is can survive long when the going gets tough. Humans are a tribal species, we get our strength in numbers. That’s not to say quality doesn’t count, of course it does. And there’s a time when numbers start going against us instead of four. But two is almost always better than one when it comes to sustainable survival. Stop thinking you can do it all on your own, you can’t literally. When the going gets tough, the lone wolves die off, but the healthy pack survives. Maybe a stretch analogy wise but you get the point. Find and forge the community you’re going to need.
