Tribes in Suburbia
In 2016, acclaimed author and journalist, Sebastian Junger,
released Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, a book about why soldiers
miss war, city-goers miss tragedy (New York - 9/11, Sarajevo – Siege, London –
The WWII Blitz, etc.), and Americans captured by Native Americans refused to
return to western society.
Junger uses PTSD as his main case study; he argues that
soldiers (most who never even experienced combat) returning home have such a
difficult time re-acclimating to society, not because of their traumatic
experiences, but because they struggle to feel necessary in the modern world. A
world where rates of suicide, depression, and PTSD are highest in the affluent
classes.
He makes the case that they feel alienated in this world
that is so different from the tribal life they learned to love: a clan
of people surviving through the thick and thin together – a platoon. Instead,
our suburban society fosters loneliness because communities are spread too thin
and people depend less on another, which can limit valuable relationships and a
sense of meaning.
Reading John C. Keats’ The Suburbs: The New American
Nightmare (1956) reminded me of Junger’s Tribe.
“Therefore, development men are apt to nod to one
another, or borrow things from one another, and their relationships in
borrowing hammers, say, are no deeper than the relationships you have with the
man who comes to fix the plumbing in a city apartment.” – John C. Keats
They confront the same issues in two different approaches,
Keats’ humor versus Junger’s serious journalistic manner, yet I think both make
valid arguments.
I can’t help myself but try to draw parallels between
Junger’s arguments and Dunham-Jones’ vision for suburbia. I am intrigued by
Dunham-Jones’ call for increased density, walkability, and tighter-knit
sustainable communities – could retrofit suburbia help to heal some of our
society’s weaknesses?
Awesome post Josh! This book has been on my shelf for a while and I am now going to pick it up read it. Considering this innate need to be part of a tribe, I wonder why suburbia was ever appealing in the first place?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting parallel and I appreciate your description of the book. I am with Sophia, I feel I need to read this now. I grew up in suburbia and there is definitely a feeling now that I am older and I have experienced "life outside" that suburbia is limiting and bland. I can see where this parallels with the return from war, because of the lack of comradery.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the parallel that you draw between Suburbs and tribes and think it is a unique perspective on community. I think another example would be a sports team. I certainly miss the camaraderie from youth sports teams and could certainly see a connection between sports teams/tribes and suburbian communities.
ReplyDeleteI like this look at soldiers trying to acclimate to life in the US. Maybe its not them but us?
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, Josh. I love the work Sebastian Junger does, and have watched some of his discussions and been really interested by the points he makes. As for Dunham-Jones, I think the parallel you make is intriguing. It's important that we continue to push suburbia in the same capacity that we push for our urban areas. At the end of the day, suburbia has its benefits just as much so as dense urban areas.
ReplyDeleteI love the parallel that you’ve drawn here between suburbs and this idea of tribes. Considering that many people that enjoy living in places that foster a strong sense of community and belonging are forced to live in the suburbs quite frankly because they can’t afford the cost of living in a larger city begs the question of how can we support more urban qualities in these spaces at a more suburban cost?
ReplyDelete