Current mood:

annoyed

Labels and Arguments
So, this was going to be a screed on how much I just realized I hate Republicans, since I just had a very frustrating argument with one about gay marriage. Then I calmed down and remembered how much I hate Democrats too, so there no reason to single anyone out. I have enough hate to go around...

(And I should clarify that I don't really hate the PEOPLE, only their dogged insistence on loving their parties and the despicable boobs their parties support for public office.)

No, said argument from the other day crystalized in my mind something I really DO hate, and not just in a gruff-but-lovable way: Labels. Specifically, labels as they're applied to people. More specifically, labels as they're applied to me. But enlightened self interested tells me that, if I hate them being applied to me, I should hate seeing them applied to anyone. So I do.

Case in point. I argued that anti-gay marriage legislation was a bad idea, because I'm not aware of a constitutional clause which empowers Congress to regulate marriages. I got called a "strict constructionist," and so my opponent proceeded to argue with me as if I were everything that name implied. Any supporting argument I made about human rights was rejected because a "strict constructionist" wouldn't agree with it. I also got labeled a "big government liberal." This took me by surprise, as I was arguing for LESS law -- in this case, that we do NOT need a law banning certain kinds of marriages.

But I was arguing to allow gay marriage, so I was a liberal, and liberals support big government. (How a strict constructionist can also be a big government liberal was never explained.) Finally, I was labeled a megalomaniac who wanted to run the world, because I thought I could pass any law I wanted and ignore any I didn't like. (This was because I said that it was a waste of Congress's time to debate a Marriage Amendment, and that all Amendments to the Constitution should contribute to the protection of life, liberty or property. Remember the REASON we have government? It ain't so we always have someone to whine to when we have a problem that's the result of our own stupidity.)

I'm often confronted by this. I believe in the right to choose, even though I don't like abortion. This makes me a liberal. I believe any responsible adult should be allowed to marry any responsible adult who doesn't have a conflicting, established contract. That makes me a liberal. I don't, however, think that there should be a law enacted granting a RIGHT to gay marriage... Whoops! I just shifted right, didn't I? I also believe that income tax is an abomination, and that the vultures (read: the government) don't have a right to pick through and redistribute my belongings just because I was silly enough to die. (I just said I don't like death taxes.) Now I MUST be a Republican, right? Oh, no, I'm a libertarian. But some libertarians would say I'm not entitled to that label unless I support the (genuflect as you read this) War On Terror. Or if I believe that there's a need for SOME government. (And yes, some would say that libertarians should oppose said "War," and that minimal government is necessary.)

Indeed, most of the debates I have with people bog down because my opponent is spending so much time trying to categorize me that he can't be bothered to listen to what I'm saying.

Labels are insulting. They suggest that we can't think, and develop our own moral and ethical code. That we need to pick the one which has one or two points we like, and blindly accept all the rest.

The saddest thing is that so many people DON'T object to being labeled. Indeed, they seem to revel in accepting the party line. If you challenge them on this, the most intelligent response you'll probably get (and you won't get one this intelligent very often) is "oh, well, you just have to be practical. Strength in numbers, and all that."

A lot of people are happy to let Rush Limbaugh or Ariana Huffington do all their thinking for them. Or to pick a single issue by which to judge candidates and government performance (and usually it's something that government can't do a damned thing about) and ignore all else. Gay rights, abortion, prayer in schools, "the economy" (whatever the hell THAT means)...

Me, I prefer to assume I'm speaking to someone who formulates their own opinions, and who assumes that I do the same. If you're going to argue, please argue with ME, not with some media hack's stereotype of a "liberal" or a "conservative."