The Jewish Observer

I want to know, really, why the shock over the election of Mark Sanford to represent South Carolina’s first congressional district. Democrats/liberals seem to be stunned that a person who cheated on his wife while governor, misused state funds to visit his mistress in Argentina, and tried to cover up the whole mess by saying he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail; would win handily by a 10% margin. Folks in the liberal media (MSNBC for example) have a really fun time pointing out the hypocrisy of avowed Christians in South Carolina who are so high minded about morality yet seem quick to forgive Sanford for his sins by voting for him.

Republicans/conservatives, on the other hand, are gleeful of this victory as sign that voters are just plain sick of Obama, liberal politics, and a congress dominated by Nancy Pelosi. If the last surprises you, Sanford’s big campaign bit was to debate a cardboard figure of Nancy Pelosi as the representative of all things he was against in Washington. Conservatives (who I am guessing are mostly Christian) are touting Sanford’s victory as a triumph of redemption. Sanford has admitted his sins and taken a few years to do his penance. As Christ forgives (so goes this narrative) so too must the voter who truly cares about American values forgive to counter the liberal/Democratic scourge in DC.

Political analysts have taken variations on the above narratives to try and parse how Sanford beat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. No need to recount any of those theories, as I have a very simple one – tribalism. We tend to support our own. It is no secret or any surprise that most congressional districts are rarely in play at election time. They are heavily liberal or conservative, black or white, Republican or Democrat. Imagine an election in Berkley, CA between a morally flawed Democrat and an ethically pristine, moderate Republican. It does not matter that the Republican is honest, ethical and not a right wing Tea Party member. It would not matter if the Republican supported some bi partisan initiatives such as immigration reform. The congressional district of Berkley, CA will vote for the Democrat every time.

This is tribalism. In the case of elections it is political tribalism. We make excuses for people we see as members of our “tribe.” Unless the transgression is unspeakably violent, we will justify our support for one of our own. We will rationalize bad behavior through a range of mental gymnastics. This is important in order to understand a lot of behavior that has existed in the Jewish world. It also helps us understand some of the angst in the Jewish world over the shifting ground we find ourselves navigating.

A great example is Israel. For most of my 58 years criticism within the Jewish community of Israel was muted and very qualified if it happened at all. The only really vocal critics of Israel were Jews who had for the most part left the Jewish fold. Committed Jews who criticized Israel risked being labeled as “self-hating” Jews. I am guilty of accepting questionable behavior by the Israeli government under the justification that Israel faced special circumstances. Yes, for decades I have supported a two state solution to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians, but my default position has always been to support Israeli government, no matter who was Prime Minister, to give them the benefit of the doubt – because of my ingrained tribalism.

Because of the Jewish historical narrative of constant persecution, Jews become defensive when a member of our tribe is under investigation for crime, or accused of wrongdoing. If that person’s guilt is beyond a shadow of a doubt, we will either moan about how this person’s behavior is “bad for the Jews” (see Bernie Madoff) or maybe take a perverse pride in the cleverness that person showed in pulling a fast one over the eyes of “the goyim.” God forbid that person wrongs other Jews or steals from Jewish concerns (see Bernie Madoff). Such a person is beyond redemption, not necessarily for the crime but because it negatively impacted other Jews. This is all tribalism.

When the kosher meat processing plant in Postville, Iowa was investigated and shut because of hiring illegal immigrant workers and for employing children in dangerous jobs, many Jews were more concerned about the impact on the price of kosher meat than the ethics of the illegal acts. This is all tribalism.

But the breaking apart of Jewish tribalism is causing angst in the Jewish world. The younger generations are less prone to cutting the Israeli government a free pass just because it is Jewish. Yiddish is pretty much dead as a spoken language, and we look back fondly at what once was the Yiddish theater or the Jewish radio stations of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Young Jews see these as cute anachronisms. Indeed, as we move farther from the immigrant generations, the ethnic/tribal pull of Judaism weakens. Conversely, what I find very interesting is that among non-Jews interest in Judaism even to desiring to convert is increasing. (OK, I admit this is anecdotal based on my 12 years in Tallahassee, but I bet the trend holds beyond my experience). My generation and older is far more tribal than my children’s generation and younger. We bemoan their lack of loyalty to our “tribe.” They see us as too hung up on ethnic ties and not concerned enough with issues of justice, or happiness, or the need for all to just accept each other. I like differences. Younger generations seem to fight differences.

My guess is that the same dynamics that are breaking up Jewish tribalism are slowly eroding political and cultural tribalism. The backlash to this erosion is expressed in movements like the Tea Party or the radicalism of the NRA. But in many areas of our country tribalism is alive and well. Just check out district one in South Carolina.