Introduction – What’s Here and Why

Why does this website exist?

I’ve always been interested in things that strengthen the community. That ranges from political organizing in my 20s (aimed at providing stable housing and keeping neighborhoods working as a communities) on to ongoing efforts to get folks together for potlucks, hikes, dance parties, family reunions and the like.

Recently I noticed that a variety of political and social commentators have names a strong network of friends as a key antidote to political craziness, social media manipulation, and even some negative health effects.

I agree and have argued the same. I’ve thought I’ve trying to add what I’ve learned to the pot.

What finally tipped this this website from concept to  reality?

  1. I had a conversation at a Holotropic workshop about tribes and their emotional underpinnings.That crystallized something I’d been contemplating: we lack a vocabulary to describe the emotions that bind groups of people together. Is that just English? Can we fix that? Are there other languages that have the words? Are there academic disciplines that have developed technical terms?
  2. Someone sent an offer to buy this domain name. I refused telling them I had a project in mind. I figured I’d better put up or shut up.

I’ve found some collaborators starting with cousins that I know have similar interests and have been the cornerstones of their respective tribes.

And here we are.

Topics Herein

Their are three interrelated foci to AmalgamatedAmalgamations:

  1. Tools for strengthening the tribe, i.e. ones connections to family and friends. What’s the easiest way to build your tribe?
  2. Tools for building bridges. How do you communicate with our right- wing uncle or, if you’re the right wing uncle, your left-wing nephew?
  3. An attempt to understand the emotions that underpin tribal connection and develop a lexicon for the motivational underpinnings of group action. We lack all but the most basic vocabulary to discuss group feeling. Is there a better way to talk about this?

Click the Category to see all articles about the topic.

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