Labels can be wonderful things. Labels on our foods give us information that can help us make healthier choices in what we eat. Labels on our clothes tell us what size they are, where they are made, what materials have been used to produce them, and how to care for them. Labels are very much a part of our lives.
Unfortunately, labels are not always a good thing. For instance, we easily slap labels on people. This is not necessarily a bad thing. That person used the word “y’all”. They must be “a southerner.” He just described a friend as a “gnarly dude”. He must be “a surfer.”
But far too often labels are applied in very negative and destructive ways when we apply them to people.
I believe all people are created to be good. I believe all people are worthy of being treated with dignity and respect even if they do not allow those traits to guide them.
We all tend to be tribal. We all have those people with whom we feel comfortable. They often look, think, and conduct themselves in ways that we very much identify with. Their values, morals, beliefs, and attitudes are in line with ours and that makes them one of us.
On the other hand, there are those who are not like us. There are those things that make them different. They don’t listen to the same kind of music, go to the same church, call God by the same name, speak the same language, have the same skin color, vote for the same candidate … and the list goes on and on.
For some reason we seem to have a real problem accepting people who are different from us. We embrace those who are like us because they reinforce the rightness of our way of being, doing, and thinking. But those who are different challenge the rightness of us. Therefore, they must be wrong.
Then we apply labels to them. And this label gives us permission to view them as something less than us and therefore okay to look down upon and mistreat. One of the most blatant examples of how this tendency works is during times of war. In World War II, for example, we did not fight against Hans or Hiro. We eliminated “krauts” and “japs”.
In our world and our nation, we are not forming a more perfect union. We are labeling as we have never done in my lifetime. I cannot make you stop this. But I can make choices in how I choose to put down the label gun. I will not cease to be a voice affirming the LGBTQ+ community or supporting the MeToo or Black Lives Matter movements. I stand opposed to any actions or attitudes that want to silence, oppress, or harm these people who are being marginalized and harmed.
But I also embrace the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. as he said, “I will allow no [person] to bring me so low as to hate.” I believe all people are created to be good. I believe all people are worthy of being treated with dignity and respect even if they do not allow those traits to guide them. I do not always put these believes into practice, but they are the ideals to which I strive.
What if we could put down the label gun and recognize that they are not nearly as different from us as we want to believe? What if we could love our enemies! Pray for those who persecute us!
Think about it.
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