Do you have a favourite coffee shop, book or tv show right now? Do you tell others about them? Have you even tried to get other people to go to your coffee shop, read that book or watch that tv show?
On one level, there is personal enjoyment of something special to you that you value highly. Expressing your enjoyment of it is another level. Trying to recruit people over to experience it too, while perhaps good intentioned, is a whole other level.
Now these three levels continually play out in society. There is a natural play between the levels by each person at different times. Sometimes, you’ll decide it isn’t worth thinking about any further. Other times you will try very hard to recruit people to your team, view, group or tribe.
An obvious one would be politics. Some people enjoy their preferred party or candidate. Others want to have a sign on their lawn or talk about their preference in the pub. Finally, some people, for some elections, will try to sway others to vote for their preferred party by going door to door, paying for commercials, or hosting events for them.
Consider all of your group associations. You have many. On every topic there is one to be found. Politics, race and gender seem to get emotions racing today. However, people group themselves by so many things like enjoyment of marmite, beer v wine drinkers, movies v books, etc. Oh, and sports teams!
Some people can get exceptionally animated about their group and dislike people in another group. Yet, when the topic changes and they find themselves in the same new group as their sworn enemy, they become friendly. It all depends on the value hierarchy of the group in question in that moment. Fascinating.