Hi Steve,
Originally Posted by
Steve Blair
As an aside, it's been my opinion that one of the reasons (aside from its roots) that the AF has become such a technology totem service is the way it constantly casts aside unit lineages. While preserving unit heritage is an obsession with the Marine Corps (and to a lesser degree the Army - I say this because of the wanton reflagging that goes on from time to time), the AF spins up and decommissions squadrons and entire Air Forces with amazing regularity. Many of the units that gained fame during World War 2 or Vietnam can no longer be found, or if they are it's through some convoluted "heritage" system that really provides no real connection to the historical unit.
To my mind, I honestly don't think that's an aside . Totemism appears to have originally been tied directly into kin group lineages as a system of both genetic control and a way of parcelling out the rights to access resources (which were controlled by kin groups, aka lineages).
So, let's look at the Regimental system or "unit heritage" if you will. What does it actually do? Well, for one thing, it places people into an historical timeline that stretches back to well before they were born and will exist after they die. In very important ways, it also allows members of that unit to "commune with" the spirits of the dead and the yet to be born. Okay, that probably sounds nuts, but think about how the traditions of a military unit with a continuous heritage take on certain idiosyncratic reactions. Think about how many people become attached to those traditions and feel an "empathy" (the techincal term is communitas) with those who have gone before them and with past unit actions. It's really a process of intense emotional attachment to the stories and values of that unit.
As an aside, the stories of the unit, it's heroes and villains, are passed down to new members entering the unit. Those stories are the collective "wisdom" or "knowledge" that have been collected and stored by that unit (technically, it's the "tribal gnosis" refering to "experiential knowledge). Sometimes, these stories are marked with specific sigils - medals, sashes, etc., etc. Sometimes they are marked by particular unit-specific events.
Commenting on the AF's lack of unit lineage: I'm more than a touch worried about that, since it doesn't give them any historical depth or sense of continuity. It's very "Protestant", in the extreme, early Calvinist sense - there is nothing between you and "God" (technology). This is unlike regimental traditions, where the regiment is more "Catholic" - it stands between you and "God".
I'm starting to use theological analogies because one of the most important observations, and it was pretty confusing early on to Anthropologists, was the idea that totemsm was a "religion". In actuality, it both is and isn't. depending on how you define religion. Personally, I use a definition developed by Clifford Geertz (The Interpretation of Culture, 1973, Basic Books, New York). For Geertz, religion is
(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.
One of the reasons I like this definition is that it is actually very practical, at least to someone who analyzes "religions". Which brings me to a comment you made earlier, Steve.
Originally Posted by
Steve Blair
Totems can be useful things (and I would call the USMC "globe and anchor" a totem in this sense), but one needs to be careful just the same.
Yupper . Technically, the Globe and Anchor is a sigil - it stands for the totem, which is the "spirit" of the USMC. Actually, the German term volksgeist would probably be better than "spirit". Anyway, think of it as a sigil that has the power to evoke a sense of, hmmm, "Godhood" maybe? The sense that there is a sacred "being" that is the focal point of all those, living and dead, who have served in the Corps. Sorry, guys, this is hard to explain without being able to use vocal tonality <wry grin>. Maybe I'll just leave it by saying that this "spirit" is the living, emotional link to that which is greater than any individual.
BTW, if anyone wants historical examples, think of the Eagles of the Roman Legions or the Patron Saints of the medieval Guilds.
Marc
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