A lot of the black and white, binary issues in modern life have equal numbers on either side. Whether it is federal elections or opinions on reproductive rights or fans at the final, 50/50 for one side or the other is quite common.

When it comes to politics and issues, we conveniently call them right and left, progressive or conservative. But those words mask what the true nature is – it is about whether you care about yourself or others.

I don’t know what causes people to think one way or the other, but it is as if as a society we are grappling with how best to balance our selfish needs with the greater good. How much personal reward do we get for our deeds, and how much goes to others who are in need?

The world would be easier to navigate if we owned up to what is really going on, and instead of being labeled left and right, we said we belonged to the Caring Tribe or the Selfish Tribe.

The caring tribe respects the right of others to choose who they love, their reproduction choices, their heritage, and that they shouldn’t suffer if most of society is doing well.

The selfish tribe wants what they can get for themselves, even if it comes at a cost for others. And they will disguise this selfishness byh declaring they want things to be “equal”, in a world where needs are unequal.

In Australia, our version of Thanksgiving is called Australia Day. Seen by many as being a celebration of Europeans stealing the country from Aboriginals, there are differing opinions on the date and if anything should be celebrated. The caring tribe feels for the 2% of our population who were stolen from. The selfish tribe want to drink beer and have a BBQ and do everything they can to not think about the disenfranchised, in case that brings up thoughts they don’t know what to do with. And some are simply racists.