Shopping Cart Tribalism. "I Voted."

Civicmindedness and Identity

Every organization needs civic-mindedness. Every organization has the equivalent of parking lots with shopping carts or roadsides with litter. This is obviously true of institutions that are generational and personal, such as families—in a sense, they are almost entirely founded on civicmindedness where the family is the civis. But it is also true that large corporations and bureaucracies need civicmindedness to function. Incentives and rules aren’t enough, which is why “working to rule” actually counts as sabotage.

For institutions on the corporate and bureaucratic end of the organizational spectrum, inculcating civic-mindedness is very hard. It devolves into HR nagging very, very easily. However, these types of institutions can and do borrow civic-mindedness from elsewhere. A rationalist might look at a company and wonder why they have corporate food drives and trips to elementary schools and take your child to work day and little reminders to go vote or more controversially pride flags in June, because these things seem to be a distraction from corporate objectives. Within limits there is a real benefit to the corporation. The corporation is “borrowing” civic-mindedness.

Families have their own civic-mindedness. It is not far wrong to say that a successful generational family has civilization mindset, where the civilization is the family.

In every age there are civilized families. In every age they are surrounded by barbarians.

-C.S. Lewis

Families can also borrow civic-mindedness, and it can be done in a way that enhances your own distinct identity by being civic-minded in ways that the larger culture values but doesn’t always follow through on itself.

When your group is more civic-minded than the civis, the younger members naturally come to identify your group with civilization, and they are right to do so.

Borrowing civic-mindedness is easy. You just—pick up litter. Keep your lawn clean. Don’t litter. And go vote.

Given the recent election, that last bit of civicmindedness is the topic of this transmission. How and why and to what extent can getting involved in politics help your family project?

Photo by Janine Robinson on Unsplash

The kind of person with the intelligence and independence of mind to have goals for their family or other group beyond the ones that the culture has set for them is also the kind of person who wonders what exactly the point of voting is anyway. The odds of one vote making any kind of difference at all are mathematically absurd. For the ostensible purposes of voting in a state or national election—which is that you can choose who governs—you might just as well pay for the release of butterflies in Japan in the hopes that the flapping of their wings will create storms on election day.

Photo by moises ferreira on Unsplash

This criticism of politics is not wrong.

Further, the same kind of person often can’t help but notice that even if their vote did determine elections, the elections don’t seem to determine real world outcomes, at least not reliably.

This criticism is also not completely wrong.

Finally, the same kind of person, and in fact any old person at all, is likely to see that politics as done today tends to suck everything into its maw. If a man or woman isn’t politically involved and they run across someone who is, there is a real sense that the politically aware person has almost ceased to be themselves when they get on the subject of politics. In the old days we peasants would have suspected they were under some geas or touched by a spirit. Politics seems to be all-consuming. It is tempting to try to ward it off as one would some evil.

Photo by Rust & Leaf on Unsplash

This criticism is also not completely wrong.

But the criticisms suggest the solution.

Do

Realize that voting and electoral politics in general is a civic ritual. Participate in it. Get informed. Think about the candidates. Vote. Fully participate in the ritual. Maybe even knock some doors. Soberly explain to your kids what you think about politics. Anything you can do that would go well as a Norman Rockwell painting means you are over the target.

Once you realize that elections are civic rituals you should have more reason to participate, not less.

Do Not

Do not let yourself get sucked in to the whirlpool. Do not let the boundaries of your little civis dissolve into the larger Red/Blue tribes.

Related, Worth Your Time

Something To Believe In?

Something To Believe In? - by Michael Perrone