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What’s the point of so many labels and categories?

Last week I read a book written in the ‘60s, that is, the time of the civil rights movement in the United States. The author is a White, Evangelical pastor who at that time was leading a predominantly White congregation in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Philadelphia.

In the book, the author confessed he felt “internally divided” by the tensions between the “pietists” and the “secularist” in his congregation. “Pietists” (so called by the secularists) were those who didn’t wish for the church to talk about “politics.” “Secularists” (so called by the pietists) were those in favor of the church participating in social issues and campaigns.

The pastor said that the polarization between those two groups grew to such an extend because of the dispute for and against the civil rights movement that he felt he was standing in a river, with a foot at each margin, at the same time the river grew wider and wider. It was, he said, a “growingly difficult and painful experience.”

Five decades had passed since that time and many things have change in our society. However, we still insist people and ideas should be clearly labeled. We insist on “categorizing” and “labeling” people using labels and categories we may not even fully understand.

For example, if you say something critical of a certain political party, people immediately assume you belong to the “other” party. They will seldom think you may be critical of both parties and belong to none.

If you say you belong to a certain religious group, then people assume you blindly accept all the teachings and beliefs of that group. In fact, this “labeling” attitude is so powerful and prevalent that it is a difficult task and a painful experience to explain I refuse to be guided by political, social, or religious labels.

Too often the only choice they offer to us is an either/or choice, when they expect you to choose one thing or the other, but not both at the same time. They ask me if I am “from here” or “from there,” or if I speak “this language” or “this other language,” or if I am for this issue and therefore against this other issue.

Those looking for clearly-defined labels will never accept answers like “I am from here and from there,” “I speak both languages,” or “I am for certain aspects of this issue, but not all aspects” (or “I reject both issues,” or “I accept both.”)

They said those answers are “meaningless” and they insist we should “define” ourselves, selecting options they arbitrarily offer to us. But, do we really need to be defined by a label? Should we allow ourselves to be guided by categories? Should we accept to be polarized by politics, religion, and social issues?

I believe “labels” are an escapist approach to reality, because they help us to avoid thinking for ourselves and assuming our own responsibilities. For that reason, “labels” are a control mechanism limiting our freedom, creativity, and spontaneity.

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