Stuart's Thoughts   8/27/2018

Further Thoughts on Labeling

I’ve commented in the past that I don’t like the concept of being labelled and that i, personally, refuse to label myself and reject any labels other attempt to saddle me with.  My objection to labels is that a label essentially places a person in a box, thus, limiting that person to other peoples’ definition of that box.  The more labels applied to a person, the more he is limited in the eyes of others.  I prefer to be free of labels and known only by my name. Thus, I am an individual free to come and go as I explore whatever box or area of existence that I wish.  Today, I may wish to explore the box called conservative while tomorrow I may wish to explore the box called liberal.  Today, I may wish to explore the box called agnostic while tomorrow I may explore the box called Christian.  I want to be free to jump from box to box just as a butterfly is free to flitter from flower to flower.  There are, of course, a few particular attributes that one can’t deny.  Anyone looking at me will clearly see that I am an elderly white male. On closer inspection they will learn that I am a resident of the United States living in Connecticut and North Carolina and that I don’t like mushrooms.  They will eventually learn that I have a wonderful family, that I enjoy golf and traveling and that there are a number of things that define who I am.  However, they will not find any optional labels that i have applied to myself or have accepted from others.

Contrary to my dislike and clear rejection of labels, it is obvious that many others desire labels and often go out of their way to obtain them.  Some are even so obsessed by labels that they permanently brand their bodies with tattoos proclaiming a box or boxes that they wish to be confined to.  I’m amused by people who wear a sports jersey with the name of their favorite player sprawled across their back or people who display the name of some politician on the rear window of their car.  Why are they so enamored by some person they have probably never even met and so willing to subjugate their own identity to that of another?  A person should be proud of who they are in their own right and if any name appears across the back of their jersey, it should be their own.

Our political system essentially dictates that anyone interested in a career in politics must declare membership in a political party, realistically either Democrat or Republican.  Unfortunately this often requires unquestioned party loyalty and support of party policies.  There is little or no latitude for individual freedom in addressing and resolving national issues.  We continue to witness a major downside of labeling. Little is actually being accomplished by our million dollar collection of clearly labeled politicians.  Rather than embracing an effective process for issue resolution where diversity of thinking is the key to arriving at the best strategy for achieving the desired result, we often end up with the “party line” having the greatest numbers supporting it.  All members of each party are expected to be loyal troops to the party and unwaveringly support the party line. Until our political system frees each elected member to think and act as an individual, results will continue to be suboptimal or, more likely than not, frozen in hopeless gridlock.