Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
Written and Narrated By: Sebastian Junger
Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
Tho’ at times the Anthropology turned me off (i.e. women get kinda a short shake here), this is a book that comes closest to what I believe to be true
Namely, that our society is in great need of ways to bond with each other, and that we as individuals are sorely lacking in abilities to find meaning and purpose in life.
I’ve often felt that, if we still had a Draft for military service, we’d be a lot more careful about the wars we engaged in, and certainly that, as civilians, we would think more, care more greatly about the men and women who served. None of this offhand: Thank you for your service (Which our veterans of Vietnam didn’t even receive). Don’t get me wrong. I’ve said those five words myself, but I’ve felt entirely and wholly inadequate as I’ve done so. I’m HUGEly aware that mine is not the life being put on the line, the sanity being jeopardized, the limbs being lost. But I don’t know what else to do, so I say them.
Perhaps if we shared the burdens more, we’d get closer to being what our vets need us to be, and we’d get way closer to doing the things that our vets need us to do. …just a thought…
Sebastian Junger’s Tribe is a series of essays on our common history (Where during the early years, more individuals chose to stay with the Indian tribes that assimilated them, more individuals chose to chuck off the shackles of “civilized” life and flee to join Indian communities), and there are essays on purpose, on adversity.
Cuz it’s a very strange thing that struggle and hardship make us feel alive and willing to persevere. Pain wakes us up. The death of a friend in combat makes you just that much more motivated to make sure the man next to you makes it back home. Junger chronicles this oh so well, and for the most part, I totally agree with him. I just think he kinda sorta glorifies it a bit much. And what he waxes poetic on are situations and such dizzying highs and lows as to be unsustainable, causing grave injury over time. Adrenaline saves. But too much of it over too long a time? That causes damage, my friend.
Still, he offers some pretty interesting studies on what makes a person courageous, what makes a person a survivor of initial trauma, what turns him (Or her) into a leader over the long run. He cites wars and mining disasters, civilian roles in war, military roles. And I can very much see that he’s hit the nail on the head for MANY a vet who’s returned from combat only to feel disaffected, numb, who’s returned to discover that the bonds he forged in war will never ever recur here where death is not around the corner at every turn.
And I am UTTERly cognizant of the fact that I’ve not been anywhere remotely close to war, but I did indeed see the suffering and death (And the alMIGHTy will to survive) of fellow animal creatures after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma when I went to help out. PTSD? Yup! LOTS of therapy and even short-term meds required? Oh yes indeed.
Best time of my life? I miss those animals; I miss those people.
I miss making a difference.
Under 3 hours and, though there are some studies Junger cites that suggest women may not be the powerhouses we’d like to think we are? For the most part, this is a powerful book. Second time I’ve listened to it. And certainly not the last.
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