White, black, Christian, Jew, male, female, American or foreigner, this country has made it a necessity to label people and their groups. It’s not enough to just be human; we need to be melted into a degree of similarity with those around us. There is unresolved tension between the labels we have and the labels we make for ourselves. Difference in the color of skin or gender allows us to see differences directly. It is not so easy for our beliefs.
Very seldom do we see two peas in a pod that are on opposite sides of each other, in regards to labeling. Someone who is African and someone who is Asian might not feel the closeness that two people of the same orientation may feel. There isn’t even a need to mention gender anxiety at this point; the social roles of men and women keep one another separate, probably because of the ever-so-apparent sexual tension between the two. Color and gender give labelers a clear distinct difference; ideas clear room for another degree of social labeling.
Individuals of different religions label themselves as part of something “greater." Religion as a whole is just a group of people who label themselves the same as those who think in the same manner. It’s not enough to be Hispanic or Italian, we need to add another form of differences to the mix. Making the human race more separated is all that is coming from this. Religion gives of us a chance of freedom (some may say), but the multitudes also take it as a vast division from the others. Labeling puts us in a position of distribution in the masses, taking people that would share common identities and making themselves different.
We live in a world where we have to be accepted. Those who don’t get accepted by society fall out and remain secluded. Acceptance into a certain group is just a rendition of segregation by the masses. The world feels the urge to give everyone rights (women rights, race rights, religious rights), and everyone deserves these rights, but we aren’t trying to make sense of the labeling allotment taking place around the problems. Our people see the problems head on, not taking into account everything in their peripherals. Everyone wants to partake in the same society, but we aren’t permitted when we all feel the need to wear different brands on our feet.
Let’s think of the big labels: Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Polo, Calvin Klein and the list goes on. All these names keep us at arm’s length from one another. Women won’t date men who wear Polo, not taking into account their personalities. Employers won’t hire an employee if they come to an interview wearing Nike sneakers, not even after looking at their resume. With all the distance in the world, labels only give the consumer a feeling of being a part of the mass group - not realizing that they are secluded from another.
Race, religion, sex or brands dismissed, we are just humans that are trying to make it on Earth. We just try to survive and pass down our name, just like the person standing next to us. Until we realize that we are all the same, we will only become more singular. We will lose the groups that we hold onto so tightly, and that loosening of our hands will allow us to see. Soon we will be able to see that we are all the same within. Not the visible stuff, but deep down, where it counts. Hopefully we don’t realize it too late.
