Labels are for camp undies and canned goods, not for people

All artists are Democrats. All rich people are Republicans. Only teenagers text while driving. All unemployed people are lazy. Citizens against the war hate America. All children from single-parent homes are destined for a life of despair. All illegal immigrants are draining our resources. All attorneys are sharks. All corporate directors are money grubbers. All Muslims are terrorists. All accountants are boring bean counters. Mesa County doesn’t care about its schools because it voted down a mil levy. People who post about politics and religion on Facebook should get a hobby.

Really? Of course not. Where one sits depends upon where one stands; and where one stands depends upon where one sits.

Even though 99.5 percent of our genome is the same for all humans, it is that...
other one-half of one percent that results in billions of unique individuals, each with our own realities, joys, pains, passions, fears, challenges, dreams, motives, successes and perspectives – generation after generation.

When I ask why it is a bad thing to strive for and earn a profit in America after hearing of record profits from energy companies, it is assumed I am a “right-winger.”

When I ask why it is a bad thing to expect equal rights and consideration for all Americans after hearing about legislative denial of gay marriage rights, it is assumed I’m a “lefty.”

When I express offense at MSNBC pundits for mocking Mitt Romney’s champion dressage horses, it is assumed I am a “right-winger,” even though my daughter-in-law owns and raises champion dressage horses and she is neither wealthy nor out-of-touch.

When I express offense at Fox News pundits for demeaning comments towards immigrants, it is assumed I’m a “lefty,” even though one of my dearest friends is an immigrant, escaping frightening oppression to be here and she is certainly not mooching off our precious resources.

Labeling someone before considering the merits of his or her idea or perspective assumes a position of all-knowing with nothing left to learn. The smartest people I know are smart precisely because they are perpetual learners, not because they have all the answers and already know everything. Nor do they hesitate for a moment to point out my presumptive labeling.

For example, I admit to struggling with letting go of the idea that people on Facebook who post hell-fire-and-damnation political and religious quotes day in and day out really should get a hobby. I’m not talking about the occasional inspirational quote posted in between vacation photos; I’m talking about the constant drip, drip, drip of canned political and religious one-liners forwarded ad nauseum from who-knows-where. Takes everything I have not to respond with, “you poor dear, have you thought about taking an art or cooking class?” Or “have you thought about sharing moments in your day that warmed your heart or brought a sparkle to your eye?”

Fortunately, my smart, learner friends are quick to caution that just because those constant posters of political and religious quips don’t share anything else doesn’t mean they don’t have anything else going on in their lives. I know they’re right, of course, but, good grief, it is tough to resist sometimes. I’m not at all saying it is easy.

It’s a shame that so many worthwhile ideas and solutions to problems get derailed because of a blind and quick-to-label opposition convinced that anything proposed by the enemy du jour couldn’t possibly have merit. Slap it down before it has a chance to take root! God save the queen!

Surely there are viable solutions to our national, state and local problems coming from both sides of the political aisle, just as there are – equally – absurd ones. But with all our spoon-fed, quick-to-react, one-size-fits-all labels for “Left” and “Right,” how can we possibly recognize the difference between a good and bad idea, much less give one the chance to blossom?

As a really smart guy told me recently, “labels are best suited for camp undies and canned goods, not for people.” (And while I do get that, I still think those folks on Facebook who post all those political and religious quotes day in and day out really should get a hobby. I’m just sayin’.)

This post is excerpted from my weekly column in The Daily Sentinel as published in the Sunday July 8, 2012, edition of the newspaper.