We are all creatures of tribal behavior and there is hardly any universal understanding. The tribal mindset has pushed us all towards unbelievable limits of violence. Super-destructive weapons are the best proof of such tendencies towards violent and homicidal behavior. Few other creatures on earth have such homicidal tendencies of “winner takes all”. There is a dwindling trend of understanding in a world ever more linked and informed. Precious little has been learned from past mistakes by a noticeable many, especially amongst the economically advanced, albeit some have earned an “A” for effort in the EU, India and China. Many others in the developing world are trying to push themselves in that direction -- at glacier-like speeds.

It seems that tribal behavior and material possessions conveniently amplify each other, even though the colonial era is behind us. Could it be that we are on the cusp of a new era of borderless colonialism?

Aside from “natural” tribal tendencies to group as nations, people or races rally around common values and beliefs (such as religion, political parties or a hybrid of both) or causes (charity, clubs, or frequent flier programs) or viewpoint (socialism, communism, capitalism). All these seemingly satisfy our desires and our make-belief us-and-them mindsets that lead us to setting up gangs, armies or other perceptions that amplify differences. It is precisely the same tendencies that lead us to buy brands, wear the trademark of others, smoke cigarettes or buy software from Microsoft. You might be “out” (and one of “them”) if you do not have a basic knowledge of American English as working with a computer will prove to be a challenge. Ditto for addiction to TV entertainment shows (sorry, I meant to say “news”). Get ready to be fingerprinted at a foreign airport -- where you have never visited before as the locals are busy selling gizmos to their local governments. Who needs to understand foreign lands and foreign languages and who has time for mutual respect?!

This deeply rooted psyche is not something that governments can change for no government can change human nature, save for the possible exceptions of facilitating education or allowing meaningful discussion around a table. It is a matter of people-to-people contact. To “jaw, jaw is better than to war, war” as Winston Churchill has been quoted, although the world has seemed to prefer violence and bloody wars.

So, I am left with many more questions that the one that I set out to answer. In a world where materialism and consumerism have set the benchmarks of “advancement” and “development of a society”, how can we leap beyond shopping and consumer debt to let minds advance towards dialogue? Have abrasive confrontation and in-your-face threats, or a vocabulary of a divisive mindset really made our world a better or safer place? Should we all set up new networks of dialogue and understanding amongst people at grassroots, over the shallow minds of politicians and age-old governmental structures? Or will the old us-them divide will prove to be an obstacle?