The society you return to as a, say, an American can be very isolated and lonely. It's the way I would describe it is potentially emotionally thin. A part of what we're talking about is missing that camaraderie with people for a cause. And so they really miss it when they have to give it up. There's a wonderful movie called The Best Years of Our Lives about World War II veterans. Patrick Dempsey: "I love my life"
Journalist and author Sebastian Junger talks about his book Tribe with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Junger explores the human need to be needed and the challenges facing many individuals in modern society who struggle to connect with others. His studies of communal connection include soldiers in a small combat unit and American Indian society in the nineteenth century.