Labels
I went to a party recently and was talking to somebody regarding labels. It was one of those conversations where it was hard to pin-point exactly where the person stood in regards to labels, the necessity of labels or the context of their symbolism. Typically party conversations tend to gravitate towards a middle ground; the result of our societies slide towards the politically correct response. The only thing that left an impression was that in the course of the conversation it suddenly occured to me that what we were discussing was directly reflective of the labels that exist overtly or in this case rippling below the surface of any given conversation.
Labels are important in some ways. There can be no arguement about that. When I go to the store, it would be frustrating if I was looking for a can of corn but was faced with an aisle of tin cans with no label. How do I find what I need? I can't buy a bunch of cans, hoping to snare the right one. The same goes for ice cream, deodorant, and a host of other items that would stay suspended in the realm of mystery unless they had a label to distinguish them and set them apart from other types of a similar product.
While in some instances labels are important, in other instances labels are destructive. When we think of someone being retarded, homeless, poor, even liberal and conservative, we create a set of values that we have determined by societal conditioning, media influence and our experiences; experiences I might add that too often come from outside ourselves. Rather than seeing a person as a whole, we see them as a label; a superficial covering that supports what we think we understand. Without taking into account the various facets that make up a human being, it's impossible to embrace them as such. What happens instead is that we create this One Dimensional Figure that we attach our beliefs too as they exist in our minds. It's like the banal batter we take part in every day when we see people at work, "Hey, How Are You Doing?" "Fine, Thanks. How About You?" We say this every day. They are words but convey nothing. It's as automatic as breathing and means about as much to us as the water that comes out of our tap.
Labels also have made us stupid. As a society we have entrusted a myraid of communication gadets to help us communicate, but we are in essence communicating less, and our conversations are about as stimulating and exciting as rolled oats. This in turn has affected our ability to critically think about a number of subjects, particulaly subjects that have wide reaching implications for the world at large; stem cell research, global warming, nano-engineering, and the global economy, to name a few. These are weighty subjects that should not be taken lightly, yet rather than truely thinking and analyzing what they mean, how we feel about them, and their relationship to the world we live in and ourselves, we have this tendency to group them based on the labels we have bestowed upon ourselves. It keeps us from having to properly examine the relationship, the inner-connecting threads of understanding that separate us from monkeys and apes.
Personally, I try my best to really investigate subjects of interest that have the potential to affect me and the world I live in. I never blindly accept what someone says. It's short sighted and dangerous. I read different books and magazines, talk to different people and filter what I am absorbing thru my own set of life experiences. In this way I can establish truth as I understand it. It's a form of self-analysis. I mean there are some things that I just don't understand. I think I'm bright, but I'm not going to profess to know the inner workings of the global economy. It's too complex to simplify. It would be like trying to unravel a five foot wide ball of yarn. Yet, I hope to at least to get my arms around most issues I feel strongly about and be comfortable knowing that my belief system is based on a comprehensive investigative analysis.
Too many people, in my opinion, never take the time to delve into what something is, what it means, how it works and most important how it affects their life. They prefer to just stick it under their label. For example typical Republicans tend to have typical Republican beliefs; less government (unless they want to know who you've been talking to or what books you have been checking out of the library)fiscal discipline, cutting taxes, creative a positive environment for big business, a strong military and a dismissive attitude towards labor. Typical Democrats have typical Democratic beliefs. Their core values include supporting the little guy against big business, opposing virulent militarism, saving and maintaining the environment and protecting civil liberties (except the party was not so wimpy about defending these values in the past as it is now. The Democratic Party used to stand for something, now it sits for everything) What's inherently wrong with both of these parties (labels) is that it makes it too easy for people to clothes pin issues under the label they are most comfortable. Rather than truely thinking about what something is, what it means, as it pertains to society and the people in it, people are more comfortable taking the past of least resistance, developing a belif system not on systematic, comparative analysis from a wide range of sources, but based on a favorite talk show host. Instead of developing an independent mind, they develop the ability to parrot their favorite A.M. radio mouth piece or CNN News Anchor. They make themselves stupid. The reason that there is so much political polarization nowadays can be easily summed up in four words, People Don't Think Anymore. They hang up issues under their label, content that Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken have all the answers. Sorry, but a personal belief system is not regurgitated bile from a political celebrity.
I've always questioned everything and often it's gotten me into trouble. I questioned my paster, my mom and dad, my friends, my professors, my boss, and I continue to question all the bullshit out there posing as truth. We all need to do that. If everyone took the time to truely delve deeply into the issues that are cracking the foundation of the society we are part of, and give themselves the opportunity to think openly and imaginatively, there would be a revolt, a revolution, because people would finally see that labels don't tell the truth. They would see the world as it truly is.
Truth can only exist in the light of open inquiry.
Labels are important in some ways. There can be no arguement about that. When I go to the store, it would be frustrating if I was looking for a can of corn but was faced with an aisle of tin cans with no label. How do I find what I need? I can't buy a bunch of cans, hoping to snare the right one. The same goes for ice cream, deodorant, and a host of other items that would stay suspended in the realm of mystery unless they had a label to distinguish them and set them apart from other types of a similar product.
While in some instances labels are important, in other instances labels are destructive. When we think of someone being retarded, homeless, poor, even liberal and conservative, we create a set of values that we have determined by societal conditioning, media influence and our experiences; experiences I might add that too often come from outside ourselves. Rather than seeing a person as a whole, we see them as a label; a superficial covering that supports what we think we understand. Without taking into account the various facets that make up a human being, it's impossible to embrace them as such. What happens instead is that we create this One Dimensional Figure that we attach our beliefs too as they exist in our minds. It's like the banal batter we take part in every day when we see people at work, "Hey, How Are You Doing?" "Fine, Thanks. How About You?" We say this every day. They are words but convey nothing. It's as automatic as breathing and means about as much to us as the water that comes out of our tap.
Labels also have made us stupid. As a society we have entrusted a myraid of communication gadets to help us communicate, but we are in essence communicating less, and our conversations are about as stimulating and exciting as rolled oats. This in turn has affected our ability to critically think about a number of subjects, particulaly subjects that have wide reaching implications for the world at large; stem cell research, global warming, nano-engineering, and the global economy, to name a few. These are weighty subjects that should not be taken lightly, yet rather than truely thinking and analyzing what they mean, how we feel about them, and their relationship to the world we live in and ourselves, we have this tendency to group them based on the labels we have bestowed upon ourselves. It keeps us from having to properly examine the relationship, the inner-connecting threads of understanding that separate us from monkeys and apes.
Personally, I try my best to really investigate subjects of interest that have the potential to affect me and the world I live in. I never blindly accept what someone says. It's short sighted and dangerous. I read different books and magazines, talk to different people and filter what I am absorbing thru my own set of life experiences. In this way I can establish truth as I understand it. It's a form of self-analysis. I mean there are some things that I just don't understand. I think I'm bright, but I'm not going to profess to know the inner workings of the global economy. It's too complex to simplify. It would be like trying to unravel a five foot wide ball of yarn. Yet, I hope to at least to get my arms around most issues I feel strongly about and be comfortable knowing that my belief system is based on a comprehensive investigative analysis.
Too many people, in my opinion, never take the time to delve into what something is, what it means, how it works and most important how it affects their life. They prefer to just stick it under their label. For example typical Republicans tend to have typical Republican beliefs; less government (unless they want to know who you've been talking to or what books you have been checking out of the library)fiscal discipline, cutting taxes, creative a positive environment for big business, a strong military and a dismissive attitude towards labor. Typical Democrats have typical Democratic beliefs. Their core values include supporting the little guy against big business, opposing virulent militarism, saving and maintaining the environment and protecting civil liberties (except the party was not so wimpy about defending these values in the past as it is now. The Democratic Party used to stand for something, now it sits for everything) What's inherently wrong with both of these parties (labels) is that it makes it too easy for people to clothes pin issues under the label they are most comfortable. Rather than truely thinking about what something is, what it means, as it pertains to society and the people in it, people are more comfortable taking the past of least resistance, developing a belif system not on systematic, comparative analysis from a wide range of sources, but based on a favorite talk show host. Instead of developing an independent mind, they develop the ability to parrot their favorite A.M. radio mouth piece or CNN News Anchor. They make themselves stupid. The reason that there is so much political polarization nowadays can be easily summed up in four words, People Don't Think Anymore. They hang up issues under their label, content that Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken have all the answers. Sorry, but a personal belief system is not regurgitated bile from a political celebrity.
I've always questioned everything and often it's gotten me into trouble. I questioned my paster, my mom and dad, my friends, my professors, my boss, and I continue to question all the bullshit out there posing as truth. We all need to do that. If everyone took the time to truely delve deeply into the issues that are cracking the foundation of the society we are part of, and give themselves the opportunity to think openly and imaginatively, there would be a revolt, a revolution, because people would finally see that labels don't tell the truth. They would see the world as it truly is.
Truth can only exist in the light of open inquiry.
posted by Luciano at 8:01 PM
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