LABELS

Labels

We do it every day. It has become accepted in today’s society but that doesn’t mean it is always right and good. The ‘it’ I’m talking about is labeling persons and groups. Some negative examples might be: (1) “damn Yankee” (2) “red neck” (3) “liberal” (4) “conservative” (5) “geek” (6) “fundamentalist” (7) “loser” (8) “racist.” I said “could be” because some might not consider them as such but in most cases they tend to be inflammatory.

If you have never been on the receiving end of one of those negative labels in your lifetime, you probably aren’t aware of the hurt and misunderstanding they are capable of causing. Have you as a parent tried to soothe your child’s hurt feelings over name calling by another child or adult? Often we feel so helpless--- the hurt cannot be fixed with a simple kiss----and the damage may be devastating.

An incident happened a few weeks ago at a Book Fair in Louisville, Kentucky which started me to think about labels. On the Friday evening prior to the signing, the authors attended a get-to-know-you gathering. We took our turns in introducing ourselves, telling where we were from and our genres of writing. We were more than half through the group of about fifty writers when one man stood up to introduce himself. He took a deep breath and in a raised voice said, “I’m a bleeding heart liberal!”

It seemed that everyone breathed in at the same time and the room was devoid of air. (Remember we were in Louisville, Kentucky.). As if on cue we exhaled and a scattering of nervous laughter could be heard throughout the room. Thoughts which went through our minds were probably a little different in about fifty ways. My first thoughts were, is he doing this for shock value or does his writing show a positive side of this label?

No one asked him, at that time, what he meant by the label he obviously felt pride in wearing. But I was curious! I waited to near the end of the book fair to walk over to his table. I wasn’t quite certain what to say but I finally blurted out, “so you are a liberal?” He smiled and proceeded to tell me why he introduced himself in that way. He had been a Southern Baptist minister and in studying the New Testament began to think about how Jesus would deal with the problems that plague us today. He came to the conclusion Jesus would be classified as a liberal. On that premise he rewrote parts of the New Testament as if it were taking place today. He asked me if I would read his book. I answered in the affirmative and he gave me a copy. He continues to be a pastor in another denomination.

I would surmise that some authors missed an opportunity to talk to this interesting person. I don’t have to agree with him on everything but he has the right to say it.

So, remember the next time you are confronted with a label, peel it away and see the real person. You may be surprised in a positive way.

This article was written before the shootings in Tucson. As I listened to the rhetoric of finger pointing with name calling and labels thrown into the mix, my thoughts turned to Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we kept that commandment negative labels would disappear!

Darlene Eichler