All Kinds of Kinds

Imagine a world where we are judged only for our actions, not for our affiliations.  Better yet, imagine a world without affiliations or stereotypes.   A world that requires time spent for the opinions gained.  It isn’t a world for the lazy.

I am so frustrated with our country, my friends, my neighbors, my family, and even myself.  In an effort to speed along to our pleasures, we have given up the art of debate, replacing it with name calling and finger pointing.  We have become so ensconced in fitting into the little boxes we have created; we are no longer able to see from someone else’s shoes.

What happened to our statesmen?  Defined as “a usually wise, skilled and respected government leader, one versed in the principles or art of government, one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government or in shaping its policies.”  We are all called to be statesmen because we live in a democracy, but somewhere along the line it became too difficult.  It is so much easier to name ourselves as Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative and then let that party tell us what we believe.  Trouble is, sometimes we don’t quite agree with some overarching belief, but we’ve been labeled and there is no room for gray in a black and white barcode.

And we really like our barcodes and labels.  A Thoroughbred is fast and hot.  A Warmblood is slow and dumb.  A Quarter Horse is good for moving cows, but a bit thick.  An Arab is flighty.  Ponies are ornery.  Not a horse person?  Pitbulls are aggressive.  Cats are aloof.  Family people drive minivans.  Motorcycle riders like leather and my Facebook status can tell you anything you need to know about me.

Why are we so stuck on our labels?  When something challenges one of our self-given labels we attack and defend as if our vary identity was at stake.  In a way it is.  We no longer take the time to cultivate who we truly are and what we truly believe.  Instead we go grocery shopping… “Oh, I like spaghetti, bananas, freedom of choice, big government that can protect me, low taxes…”  But even that takes time and thought, so “Just give me the value bundle.”  I might not like everything that’s included, but who cares, you’re bound to get some bad with the good, right?

If you walk up to someone on the street and ask them what they think of stereotypes, they will probably tell you they are horrible.  But if you include them in a stereotype that they find favorable, they probably wouldn’t even consider it a stereotype, just an affiliation they are proud to promote.  That said, personally, I’d much rather have dinner with you, then give you the opportunity to judge me by a sign in my front yard.

That’s the heart of the matter.  We love to judge.  We love to judge others and we love to judge ourselves against others.  I realize this entire rant is judgmental.  I just ask that you seek a Fresh Perspective, a deeper perspective.  We’ve been taught not to judge a book by the cover, but we’re all too happy to let others judge us by our “Likes”, our statuses, our hash tags, and our affiliations.  Because when we feel like we have been judged unfairly, we can retort with, “They were stereotyping me.”  However, it is only unfair, if it’s untrue.  Are you more than your label?  Can you stand without your barcode backing you up?

Miranda Lambert has a beautiful song out called All Kinds of Kinds.  The chorus claims, “Ever since the beginning, to keep the world spinning, it takes all kinds of kinds.”  It’s just as true today as it was the day this country was founded.  None of us have all the answers.  Brainstorming works best with a diverse and unhampered group.  The answers are there, we just have to peel off all our labels to find them.