Labels are inevitable, an unavoidable outgrowth of the human impulse to categorize. They identify. They simplify. They also confine. Even stigmatize. They can get you in, or keep you out. Open a door, or get one slammed in your face.
As noted here last week, above all else labels are shorthand. They uncomplicate things. Problem is, people are complicated. Not easily reduced to shorthand.
Everyone knows the traditional political spectrum.
These familiar labels are used to categorize both policies and people. Here’s the rub: Most people defy labeling. For example, a good many social liberals consider themselves fiscal conservatives. Some fiscal hawks are doves militarily. Me, I’m liberal in some ways, moderate in others, conservative in at least one respect.
I’ve found labels to be the enemy of conversation, and an even greater threat to understanding. Label yourself a liberal and half the population has heard enough. That tells them all they need to know about you. Label yourself a conserv…
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