One of my students posted a badge on her Facebook account not long ago that read…”Nerds? We prefer the term ‘Intellectual Badass.’”
I like that.
But it also illustrates the problem with labels.
Labels almost never describe everything that someone thinks. By definition they give the one labeled no opportunity to explain, nuance, or defend what they believe. The labels themselves slip and slide in meaning, changing connotation. And the connotation that matters is almost always the one used by the one doing the labeling.
“Conservative,” for example, once meant “conserving” of the best of tradition. Now, more often than not, it refers to a body of beliefs (though, predictably, that body of beliefs varies widely.)
“Liberal,” once meant, open to ideas. Now it describes someone who doesn’t believe what a conservative believes (and that is hardly a matter of being open).
It is not surprising, then, that when labels are used conversation ends. If I label you, then I no longer need to make the effort to understand you — your fears, concerns, or passions. I have decided whether you are right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, in or out.
That is not to say that you shouldn’t form or hold critical opinions, but labeling doesn’t make for critical conversations. It forecloses on them.
What is the spiritual issue at stake? We are called to love God and love one another. You can’t love a label.
I think labels do provide each of us a sorting ability during the day necessary due to the shear number of people we come in contact with (i.e. the mailman, the grocery clerk, the police officer directing foot traffic, etc…) For those people need to be sorted so we can move on through our day; labels are an important action/skill.
For those members of our closer, social networks (workmates, friends, family, etc…) labels do need to be explored and diminished. People are simply too complex for binary labels if you want to get to know them. Maybe that’s it – do you want to get to know the other person or just categorize them and move on? No effort put forth! No time invested!