group synergy

There is a sense of synergy that is hard to not experience in group moments. It is an aspect of our humanness to meld together at times into collective units. This can be positive or negative or neutral. It has been harnessed by every tier or ripple of our existence. From the family to the neighborhood, from the school to the company on up to city, state and race or nation. It is used with very designed intent within religion and the military and can be reached through parades, rallies, rites of passage, holidays, festivals, sports and more.

It is always possible
to bind together
a considerable number
of people in love,
so long as
there are other people
left over to receive
the manifestations
of their aggression.

— Sigmund Freud
Civilization and Its Discontents, (1930)

There is a sense of belonging that occurs. The ego somehow losses it's sense of other and we are immersed into a bigger sense of belonging. politically this can be tricky territory to navigate. It does not equate to socialism or communism, though certainly all politics have recognized the importance of mobilizing the masses. How do we mobilize — media & word of mouth — it's a form of uniting the many individuals. We see it every election, the fervor of the followers, the volume of many into one.

A person
of definite character and purpose
who comprehends our way of thought
is sure to exert power over us.
She cannot altogether be resisted; because, if she understands us,
she can make us understand her,
through the word,
the look,
or other symbol,
which both of us connect
with the common sentiment or idea;
and thus by communicating
an impulse
she can move the will.

— Charles Horton Cooley
Human Nature and the Social Order, (1902)

This is seen in cults, in religions, in lifestyle advocates. It can be seen in the commercial world through branding and brand followers. One one hand we desire to belong. we look for tribes. It's how facebook and flickr are able to connect. we want and need to find our group/s. Where once upon a time it was our village or agora where we could see our place and through the town or city we'd unite for our shared gods and calendar celebrations, now in our fragmented and diversified lives we become hunters for the tribe. seeking over the entire world, people of kindred spirits. This is the beauty of the internet, for me. but also a sign of how far we have moved from tradition. I have no traditons from my great grandparents other than baking. no rituals or festivals or celebrations that have been passed down intact.

And that brings me to here, now. South East Asia. Sinagpore. On one hand we are surrounded by immersive experiences that carry culture and history and identity, and on the other this city state is on an identity seeking mission. Singapore is a country of transplants. it is a place of opportunity and trade. Peoples from all over have come and set up and built from kampongs this massive power. It — like the states — looks forward. All around us we have much older societies and cultures where continuity and identity are strong and rather extraordinary. Here, however, we are in a defining mode. What and who are we? I'm including myself. I'd like to stay here.

It's become the way of the world for many now. transplanted peoples, recreating and seeking villages. It's this lifestyle. So many of us are nomadic. We move with our homes on our backs. turtles looking for opportunities, bringing wealth of ideas and personalities, seeking shelter. This global nomad. And there is something that lives in that — the sense of belonging, the village is movable, like the movable feast. transplanting here and there...connected however, to all irregardless of location. I have here, now — and yet still seem and feel connected to all those from there / elsewhere. thanks to facebook the internet etc. Yet it's the physical here - the shoulder to shoulder that somehow can stop time. momentarily.

There is only one city on the planet, the planet itself
— Marshall McLuhan