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How many times have you heard it? Someone decides not to participate because they don’t want to be on some list? In my experience, it’s not the list but the label associated with it that makes people nervous.
Labels are lazy. They are an easy way to dismiss someone or something without actually having to investigate it. Label someone a terrorist, and you can throw due process out the window. Label someone a racist, and you can simply ignore them. Label someone a threat to democracy, and you can do just about anything to keep them out of office. In other words, labels allow us to be the worst kind of prejudiced filth but feel good about ourselves.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
This childhood saying may be true, but it seems the American people are running away from words as if they were sticks and stones. Just look at what happens when someone gets called a racist, homophobe, or any other pejorative label. Why? Because we don’t want the label and the “stigma” that’s associated with it. Rather than challenging the accusation and demanding proof, we’d rather hunker down and pull the ground over top of us. This is why people use labels to discriminate against others. More often than not, the accused ends up doing all the work for them.
We also forget one very important point about those who use labels and name-calling to win an argument. The fact is, they’ve already lost. They have no evidence and have nothing left but their childish temper tantrum to get their way. For that reason, we should treat them like the two-year-old throwing a fit in the cereal aisle — simply walk away.
The Constitution Study with Paul Engel on America Out Loud Talk Radio can be heard on weekdays at 4 pm ET. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free Apple, Android, or Alexa apps. Listen to other episodes of The Constitution Study, available on podcast.
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