labels restrict,

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When people label themselves, as "christian" or "jewish" or "atheist" or "white" or "black", "republican" or "democrat", your missing out on what other ideas can provide you. You are usually pressured to think and act inside said box. I think all ideas have something to offer, but by labelling myself as something, I am missing out on what other points of view offer. So I choose not to label myself. And because of this, I am more free to think. How many other people on here would agree to this?

Most people who label themselves as a christian or related weed only believe in "some god out there" and do whatever they please according to their nature.. Which is a step in the right direction.. At the same time it makes them a hypocrite as well "Well, I agree with some things.." ok, then your not a christian lol. You might as well make your own sect or something if you still want to call yourself one for whatever reason...

I think it's more a state of mind.

You can think, "I think ___, ___, and ___, therefore, I am a liberal/conservative" and that's ok.

If you think "I am a liberal/conservative and so _____"... that's no good.

I mean, biological things such as race, gender, or neuro-divsersity, or disability, those are things that cannot be totally avoided. They should be acknowledged, but they should not be used to identify an individual. Such things should not usually be a factor unless there is a reason for it.
Other labels are chosen, political labels, religions, culture, etc..... These things are chosen. But people are usually pressured to conform to whatever group(s) their in.
But my point being, that by labelling oneself, they are robbing themselves of other points of view that might actually be beneficial.

I believe I have to agree, you have a point there, saying I am this or I am that, it seems that it is very possible to shape yourself a little to conform to some denomination you might want to belong to or feel you should, as for me, my views tend to be liberal (but not that liberal) and perhaps left wing, especially being attracted to humanism philosophy, however I don't think I have to follow everything that belongs to any kind of philosophy, which can be good to take some of other views or philosophies into account as well.

Last edited by greenblue on 02 Feb 2008, 11:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Yeah, but what are the odds that someone would honestly agree with one party on multiple stances if not the entire party line, had they really thought for themselves?

Which is dissapointing because it either happens before they are old enough to know any better, out of desperation, or because they just simply havent broken down all the facts to think about it enough.. Or it doesnt matter to them. If you choose to label something it should matter, because that label describes who you are as a person. I just think people should think more thats all.. It affects them more than they think.

Labels breed division. If people were not so caught onto labels, they could all learn from one another instead of fighting with one another over their differences. Once you've adopted a label, your no longer a free person. You are subject to that label. Meaning someone is telling you what to think or how you should act.
Individuality is freedom...... Once you've grown out of group think patterns, you'll tend to analyze things a lot better. Thinking should not be a chore.

The main difference I see between "liberals" and "conservatives" ideologically, liberals are biased against whites, males, straights, christians, whereas conservatives are biased against ethnics, women, gays/bi's, and non-christians.

Labels are part of human language. The words we're using in the sentences of our posts are labels. It's not the labels that are the problem, it's how you interpret the labels that makes all the difference. Basically, there's no need to assume or take things too seriously - keep an open mind.

I thoroughly agree with snake321's sentiments.

Labels divide and enslave us to an increasingly limited mindscape, they are the essence of the 'matrix' - the pernicious web that narrows our perceptions, experiences and blinds us to the fact that we are all one - infinite conciousness.

I like Ickes term 'oppo-sames', where two identical states of mind wear a different dress.

example - in the 30s we were taught to view the political landscape as having two extremes; communism regime and its 'opposite', hitlers fascism. Yet when you look at them they are pretty much identical in the major respects - centralization of power, military dictatorship & concentration camps. They couldnt be true opposites, because two opposite things can never come into conflict with each other - only 'oppo-sames'

I have started to notice this in myself, even as i read the boards. Sometimes i read an opinion that angers me, and i realise i am frustrated because, deep down i recognise the same attitude in myself, or in my past.

Last edited by psych on 03 Feb 2008, 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

Labels don't "enslave" me. I agree that human language is very limiting, but it's up to the individual to define their own reality subjectively. Words don't shape my entire existence, I simply use them to communicate what I can to others, and vice-versa.

If a man says he's a Republican, some people may immediately assume x number of things about him. I choose not to assume. It's my choice to make, the words don't control me.

You can adopt a label for yourself yet not be "enslaved" by it. Who says labels can't change over time when one gains knowledge, insight etc. etc.? They don't need to be "fixed".

I don't think it's a question of labels, but rather if one is open-minded or not. Some people simply don't acknowledge that things may or may not exist while others do, regardless of labels.

You do not decide what is reality, neither do I or does anyones else. That's another part of the problem, people have forgotten there is an independent reality that does not care about our perceptions or our feelings on it..... 2+2=4, it can not also equal 7 just because you decide that it should... It equals 4, bottom line. Do you get what I mean by this?
There is an ultimate reality we do not decide, but we are all subject to. Now we might not know every little part of that reality, but the current trend seems to be to pretend we know absolutely nothing, even if it's right there in front of our faces. People assume "my reality is different than your reality", and this is wrong. Labels keep people from the ultimate reality, they keep people delusional and often ignorant. We do not decide this reality, but **if** people woke up and acted as one, we could change our reality for the better. That is a big **if** I know.

Labels are an essential part of human language, it is impossible to free ourselves of labels, it just results in the creation of new labels.



"The limits of our language mark the limits of our world" -Ludwig Wittgenstein

Mathematics are an invention of sapient minds used to help describe reality, it is not part of reality. 2 + 2 = 4 because of how the numbers 2 and 4 and the process of addition are defined, not because the numbers really exist.