Us versus I
Edited on May 12th, 2026.
Recently, I read An Indigenous People’s History of the United States. Then I read the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux and am currently reading Black Elk Speaks. I have been and remain fascinated by the spiritual and cultural beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. I think what many of us have been taught about these peoples originates from what was reported to be true by European colonial settlers, who weren’t necessarily all that good at communicating with them or all that interested in their spiritual and cultural beliefs and practices. We get a manufactured and misinterpreted representation of the savage native or of a wise and noble people who naturally went extinct. Both are wrong. Both simply serve to make people feel more comfortable with what those who came before us did in the past. It’s easier for people to live with the cognitive dissonance than it is to live in the current moment without shame, guilt, and a lot of sorrow. Anyway, I’ll move on.
In reading about the Lakota Sioux, I am consistently aware of how frequently they emphasize the importance, value, holiness, and love for, “the people,” and, “our people.” There is an understanding that the people, the whole nation, is what matters. The individual holds value through what they contribute to the nation, to the people, to their people. They think of the people as theirs. They have ownership. They are committed to it. They view themselves as no less than nor greater than any other member of the nation. They view strength as unity and mutual and equal investment in the wellbeing of the nation, of the people, of their people.
I promise this does not spin into a nationalist rant. Quite the opposite. That is us vs them. That is not what I am suggesting. Im suggesting that there is no them. There is only us: the people. All of us. We really do have no true differences or divides.
And so I’ve been quite taken by how frequently this is emphasized by Black Elk. I’m reminded of similar beliefs in Buddhist teachings, Hindu teachings, and historic Christian teachings… although I would argue that these beliefs are not that evident within contemporary popular Christian movements.
Really, it is interconnectedness. It is the belief that there is no individual. The world is much bigger than we are. We, ultimately, contribute very little to the grand scheme of the universe. It is the understanding that what matters most is the whole, not its pieces. But, that with all of the pieces invested, the whole is strong. It’s really a lot of things all rolled into one. I am also brought to the idea of ego-death, the recognition of the insignificance of the individual. I think my rambling here only proves that this is a pretty wide spread belief, across cultures and across time.
We don’t emphasize this belief in the United States. I think that the reason why is explained by our economic system. And I will preface this with this: the fact that our economic system is our economic system doesn’t mean that it is right or good. Our system is just the way to do things if your first and most emphasized priority is producing as much wealth as possible. Accordingly, the approach is to convince everyone that they themselves are an individual. There is no “we.” There is no community. There is no us. You are responsible for everything for yourself. You must make your own coffee in the morning and make all of your meals. You must drive yourself to work. You must mow your own grass. You must do your own handy work. You need to own your own house and your own car and your own hammer and your own everything. The way of community sells one hammer to one local handy person: one hammer in 1,000 people. The way of the individual sells as many hammers as there are people, 1,000 hammers in 1,000 people. Thats more hammers sold. Thats more money. Which means that that is the way to go, if of course your goal is to sell hammers. If your goal is to have a strong, healthy, productive, united nation, I think that is probably not the way to go.
And don’t get me started on the tricks they pull to convince you that you now need a second hammer or that somehow your hammer is now obsolete and needs replaced.
So, a robust sense of interconnectedness is not made readily available to us. In fact, what is made available to us is a profound culture of loneliness. I don’t think anyone would disagree with this. Of course, as free market economies tend to do, they do try to sell it back to us. They promise that phones, cell phones, text messaging, video calls, social media, etc. will connect us all like never before!
Do you feel connected? Or do you feel alone?
We buy it back but it never satisfies what is obviously a very critical need of the human soul. So critical that, across time, independently, every religious, spiritual, and cultural group developed a version of the exact same idea: That we and more important that I. If there is anything that will ever approach the concept of an, “essential truth,” like so many influencers love to base their careers around (looking at you Jordan Peterson, you lunatic), it has to be religious and spiritual beliefs that become core to the functioning of all societies, that are developed in parallel with no direct introduction or influence between cultures, across time regardless of geographic location or language.
I think what is important, and hopefully keeps you from going down the fascist route with this one, i.e. the, “you’re absolutely right, what matters most is the “we” and the “we” is also (somehow) white people…” route - don’t do that. That’s silly. You’re wrong. Rethink that conclusion because you’re close but you’re not quite there. - is expanding our understanding of “we” as it becomes harder to hold onto.
Because, this world view obviously breaks down as populations grow, as the “we” becomes harder and harder to keep centralized, when the “we” becomes too abstract, when it can’t fit in one room anymore.
I think that is why we need to learn about other cultures. I think if we do, we realize that, regardless of how the “we” might diverge, we are all the same thing. We all have the same values and largely develop the same systems of spirituality and belief and meaning and community. So, I think I would encourage you to go learn about another culture. Learn as much as you can and think about how much of you you see in them, and how much of them you see in yourself.
But, as “the people” expand, the idea of “us” needs to also expand. You should not close yourself off and say that now that it has expanded into people who don’t look like me or talk like me, that those people are now them. No, rather, expand your understanding of “we” and realize that because they don’t look like you or speak like you, that your idea of “we” must be too small, because it doesn’t yet contain them. But, we know that they must be “we” anyway. Because there is only one we. If someone comes along that doesn’t seem to fit, then obviously you don’t have a large enough idea of “we” yet. So, expand your understanding. Take the non-fascist route, I beg you.
Obviously, we can’t just tear down capitalism and re-establish a more traditional and indigenous system of organization and belief/spirituality. But, we all can start thinking today, right now, about how we can think more as a member of a “we” and less as an individual, an “I”. Start with your partner. What are our needs? Not, “What are my needs in this relationship?” but ,“What do we need to make this relationship function well for both of us?” Start here. Expand to your family, your parents and siblings, your friends, your neighborhood, etc. Keep going out and go out and out and out until it encompasses all. No one should be left out of “we.”
I think capitalism actually could fall. Not through revolution. But it could certainly fall if every individual decided they they are going to start emphasizing shared responsibility, interconnectedness, and a culture of pitching in, of equitable investment in “us" and “our” wellbeing. Capitalist power lies in their access to a consumer base. But, we can always decide to no longer be consumers. Or to consume differently. And, if we all decide we are going to stop being consumers and rely on community to meet our needs instead of the products and services offered by our CEO overlords, then capitalism has no power.
If we decide we’re going to start repairing our vehicles instead of buying new ones, and that we don’t need Twitter all that badly, where exactly does Elon Musks power come from?
How you participate in consumerism either lends power to or withholds power from corporations and from capital investment. Just like your vote, it holds great power. We have the power to shape the future that we want. Use your consumer status as a political tool and as a revolutionary tool for change.
Anyway, that’s about 5 or 6 good tangents and probably as close to a clean wrap us as you can expect from me.
That’s what I’m thinking about right now: Us versus I.
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