Unprecedented times- a phrase we hear all too often lately. Although true, as this is a unique time in history, just as we are each uniquely created human beings; yet each generation has had it’s own “unprecedented time” or crisis. It is not a novel concept to history. There have been other pandemics, other crushing tragedies, other examples of cultural shake ups throughout history of even greater magnitude than what we are currently experiencing, both nationally and globally. I’m in no way minimizing the fear, pain, loss, and despair that is seemingly running unrestrained through the nation in 2020 like a Tasmanian devil freed from a cage. This reality is dreadful, real, valid, and sobering; but this reality is made real to us and seemingly of a greater magnitude because of the immediacy and uncertainty of the experience. We don’t have the benefit of a coffee table history book that we can turn the page on and see what is behind the curtain of tomorrow. But if we did… what would we do to change the way history is written? This unprecedented time is real to us because we are living it, and the reality is we still have the ability to impact its nature and the direction of its trajectory.
The latest crisis to shake and bake our culture is the horrific tragedy of a needless loss of life inflicted on a man by an authority figure which has further polarized an already divided nation. Why are our nation’s nerves so inflamed? Today’s default answer is injustice, and there is most certainly merit and validity in that response to recent events in our current history. I think it goes much deeper than this, however. The Floyd case is the gasoline thrown on an already smoldering pile of historical tinder. The incendiary device being used by every affiliation, every ethnicity, every political party, every human category, is labeling- and the resulting actions and group think sparked by these labels.
By applying a label, we are instantly requiring a choice- either we identify with the label or divorce ourselves from the label. We are either American or non-American, Boomer or non-Boomer, Millennial or non-Millennial, young or old, sick or not sick, mentally ill or not mentally ill, rich or poor, liberal or conservative. The pattern is that a label forces a black or white, yes or no, true or false, right or wrong, belong or don’t belong mentality.
A label in and of itself has purpose. Labeling is a natural human mechanism to make sense of our world and serves as an integral part of our language and communication. We teach our children the labels for the various colors in the world around us, we label the foods we eat, we label structures and tools we utilize on a daily basis. In Genesis God had Adam assign names to the animals around him. All these labels are functional labels. We create labels to create a faux sense of order in the world around us. So labels, by themselves, are not the problem; they are useful and necessary ingredients to the language of a functioning society. It’s when we begin creating divisive labels that the labels are no longer functional, but begin to spur dysfunction, disharmony, and eventually disaster.
When we use a label to divide, unjustly stereotype, accuse, mislead, ostracize, or overly generalize, we divide rather than unite. We force an unnecessary divisive choice. Are you a member or not a member? Are you with me or against me? Are your liberal or conservative? Are you a northerner or a southerner? Are you a cat person or a dog person? The list is, of course, as endless as the loads of laundry in your life.
The truth is, the actual answer to most divisive questions is somewhere in the middle- on a continuum between the gas gauge of most and least. There can only be one bearing the label of “most” and one the label of “least”. The rest of us fall somewhere in between. Not all self- professed conservatives or liberals have exactly the same ideas or perspective on every issue. Not all Millennials or Boomers act or think identically. Not all cat lovers love only cats or even all cats. Not all dog lovers despise cats or love all breeds of dogs. Even identical twins disagree.
Forcing labels, forcing identification, or declaring that anyone not agreeing with us 100% on a specific issue is automatically an enemy, is a very narrow and limiting way to address a problem, much less life. It puts the focus on division rather than discussion, ultimatums rather than options, anger rather than answers.
Revelation 21:4 promises, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” but until that time, we need to remember the one label that matters- we are all human, thereby we are all flawed, and all unique in the way our experiences filter the way we see the world around us. The only path to progress is through respectful problem solving, and problem solving apparently does not spontaneously materialize from clever, shaming and blaming Facebook posts.
When we choose to look for unifying commonalities rather than divisive labels, we stop viewing others as enemies and are better able to listen, to learn, and cooperate. As Ephesians 6:12 wisely states, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” It is impossible to evolve beyond our current struggles if we refuse to see others as unique individuals rather than as a limiting label and if we refuse to look at the problem instead of attacking the person. Assumptive labels block our ability to see beyond our emotions and prevent us from using our intellect to actually focus on progressive, cooperative problem solving. It’s time for us to stop picking sides like an elementary PE class, and stop slapping labels on everyone like a family station wagon held together with vacation bumper stickers.
The path we’re on is predictable- there are plenty of history books that document similar paths of mindless group think and group follow – spoiler alert- the outcome is not pretty. Instead, we have the opportunity to make history great again (sorry-I couldn’t resist) by creating an unprecedented response to tragedy by transforming it into unprecedented progress; a 21st century Renaissance of peace, cooperation, communication, respect, and refusal. Refusal to focus on what we disagree on before acknowledging common goals which we can agree on. Refusal to see individuals as disembodied labels without value, but rather see each individual as an irreplaceable human being worth hearing. That indeed would be unprecedented.
A Peace of Humble Pie 