Why do I get a lift when Green Bay's Packers score a touchdown? The Packers are the only major league football team in my state but I have never personally met any of the players, coaches or other staff. Where does some sort of primitive pride that shoots through me and lasts for the next day or so come from? Similarly, with my relatives, those from "my" town or state? I feel more affiliated to someone newsworthy from my state than from another. I feel more ashamed when a crime or shameful act is committed in my state than in another.
I don't think this makes much rational, logical sense. Maybe a little, in some cases. Maybe the air I breathe, the water I drink and the food I eat is a little more similar to that of a heroine in my county than they are to those consumed by a heroine in another county. Maybe that similarity will do for me what it did for her. Maybe she or an influential person in her life was once in my class or reads my helpful blog and her achievements are partly due to wonderful me. But probably not. Probably, we are quite independent of each other. She never heard of me and has no connection to me.
Several people I read or listen to talk about heuristics, a word with an old and specialized history that has taken on an additional meaning, a pattern in human heads that seems to be hardwired and is a decision shortcut or rule of thumb. These heuristics (hyer-istics) enable people to make decisions quickly and without a great deal of thought. They usually lead to good decisions but not always. In today's changed world, with greater communication, contact and complexity, some of these biases lead to choices that are not the best.
The lift I feel when a college or pro player does an amazing feat, the affiliation that is mostly myth, feels good. The elation that comes from MY side winning over that OTHER side is mostly harmless and does make me feel that life is worth living and I live in a good place. That surge of optimism and fellowship is a good thing in the main, I guess, even if it is an illusion.
If I donate an old camera to a charity shop and later that camera is used for prize-winning life-changing photography, some primitive part of me feels the "essence" of the camera was influenced by me. My charm radiated out of what I rejected and assisted the photographer in seeing and capturing wonderful images. Yeah, right.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
