What’s your label?
Are you a conservative or liberal?
Libertarian or authoritarian?
Christian or atheist?
Fundamentalist or evangelical?
ad infinitum
When I was born, may parents labeled me “Kenneth” but I seldom wore that label. More commonly I was referred to as Kenny, Kenny Paul (to distinguish me from my father with the same name), KP, and Poncho. As a teen I preferred Kenn. It stuck. The double ‘n’ is a psychological ploy. People remember my name.
I’ve attached other labels to myself in the past. These include:
Christian
Baptist
Fundamentalist
Conservative
Pro-life
Republican
Libertarian
Nationalist
Realist
I no longer use any of these labels. They are insufficient and misleading.
Note that all the above are group labels. The Christian label places one in a broad group that includes Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Pentecostalist. I am none of those and never have been. The label doesn’t fit. It’s too big.
The Baptist label distinguished me from non-Baptist groups. It placed me in another group that is smaller but still too large. You can find a Baptist church that believes almost anything. There are Seventh-Day Baptists, Bapticostals, and liberal Baptists. I knew what I meant by “Baptist.” No one else knew.
The fundamentalist label placed me in league with the Independent Baptist Fundamentalist (IBF) movement. This group generally rejects any preacher who fails to sport a John Dillinger hairstyle. That made me a misfit. It also boxed me with the late Jack Hyles and Bob Gray, men of high standing and low moral repute.
What about the conservative label? Conservative could mean anything from neo-con to Confederate. It’s insufficient. Republican also runs an ideological gambit. Think of RINOs (Republicans in name only) or Log Cabin Republicans (homosexuals).
The libertarian label suggests you agree with libertarians. Rare is the libertarian dinner party that doesn’t dissolve into a shouting match. Considering the Libertarian Party embraces authoritarian policies — such as granting privileged status to homosexuals — it’s a mislabel. I no longer wear it.
I reject labels. All labels. Problem solved? Of course not.
Rejecting labels can also be problematic.
Reject the Christian label and others will assume you reject all the tenets of Christianity.
Reject the conservative labels and others will assume by default that you are a leftist.
What’s more, refusing to wear labels doesn’t prevent others from attaching their own labels.
Those who disagree with the intolerant left will instantly be slapped with the racist pejorative. They may also be labeled alt-right, Uncle Tom, homophobe, xenophobe, or deplorable.
I believe what I believe, not what the group believes and not what other believe I believe.
Got a label for that? If so, it too will be insufficient and misleading.
Tell someone you are a realist and expect a syllogism similar to this:
1 – Reality is that the moon landing was a hoax.
2 – You are a realist.
3 – Therefore, you believe the moon landing was hoax.
In other words, realist is subjective to one’s own perception of reality.
So what do I believe?
I believe is is.
That is, believing the world is round or flat has no bearing on its roundness or flatness. It is what it is regardless of one’s faith. Is just is.
Believing God exists or doesn’t exist has no bearing on his existence or non-existence. God is what he is (or isn’t) regardless of one’s faith. Is is.
(I find it amusing that theists tend to believe in a God who agrees with them. We think God thinks what we think we think he should think. That places our thinking in align with God’s thinking. To argue with us is to argue with God.)
So here’s the deal: You don’t label me and I won’t label you. Unless, of course, you are a left-wing, cultural Marxist, globalist, tree-hugger. In that case I will label you moonbat.
So what is my label? My label is Kenn.
Image: Excerpted from: https://pixabay.com/en/feedback-analytics-public-speaking-2849602/
