One might think that today with wealth and power related more to knowledge than to land, the link between competing claims of territory and belligerent, anti-other emotion would weaken, but, alas, if anything, the evil link has strengthened. Though social media is culpable for intensifying the problem, it cannot be blamed for causing the problem.

Nationalism, the nation-state amplification of tribalism, is to blame. Nationalism is rooted in biological evolution: hunter-gatherer allegiance to the tribe, the group, increased fitness for survival and procreation. In today’s tightly wired world, this once-critical adaptation has warped and maladapted—much like our craving for sugars and fats that served us well when food was scarce and uncertain now causes illness and disease. Humans have confirmed time and again that they will bear any burden, endure any hardship, to protect the group—even the pride of the group—which today is usually the nation-state or ethnicities.

Closer To Truth is my life passion; I conceived CTT purely as a quest to find the best thinking about the deepest questions of cosmos, consciousness, meaning (if any)—Cosmos (mystery of existence, fundamental physics, beginnings and ends of the universe); Consciousness (mysteries of mind and brain, free will, personal identity, even psi and survival); Meaning (challenges of theism, atheism, agnosticism, philosophy of religion). All infused with critical thinking.

I’ve loved the conversations and we at CTT love to share them. But what has heartened me has been to see, from the world over, many Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists as well as Christians and Jews— seekers of all kinds—and certainly many atheists—all who think seriously about ultimate reality—becoming members of the CTT community. Even though we may come from countries or groups in conflict, regarding ultimate questions, we are united, expressing the same fascination and sharing the same passion.

While dangers of nationalism/tribalism are ever-present, our desires to comprehend cosmos, consciousness, life, meaning, can alter our destinies. When CTT members from every country on Earth, of every religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, orientation, education, socio-economic status sense the same wonder and awe, and are willing to hear diverse views when addressing ultimate questions of cosmic existence and human sentience, there is hope. Global understanding via ultimate questions was indeed not my CTT intent originally, but it is surely part of our CTT strategy now.

Nonetheless, to this day, though I haven’t followed baseball for decades and couldn’t name a single Yankees player, I still hate the Red Socks.