Labels tend to put people into broad, general categories.
As a Democrat, one gets labeled as a liberal.
As a Republican, a conservative.
Even if one is fairly moderate, they are either a moderate liberal or a moderate conservative.
However, there are many Democrats that hold some conservative values, just as there are socially minded Republicans.
When we put people into the large labels of conservative and liberal, we tend to think that everything the other side says must be wrong and everything that our side says has to be right. That is why we have become so divided as a nation.
As it turns out, we are often saying the same things as the linked article below demonstrates.
Before getting to the link, I want to remind you that (at the end) I wasn't a big GWB fan. I did vote for him once, but was greatly disturbed by the policies enacted in his first term and didn't vote for his re-election. I also mocked his many misspoken quotes or poor grammar during his second term (shame on me).
That said, here are some things he did say and I wish that our current President-elect and members of our Congress would remember and give heed to:
7 Things that George W Bush said that we should remember in 2016 (now 2017).
Maybe we need to start really listening to one another in 2017 rather than dismissing what someone says because we have already labeled them as stupid or ignorant.
Just a thought...
John <><
GWB should have made more of a point of pursuing what he said.
ReplyDeleteLabels may box people into certain actions and opinions that they would not necessarily go into.
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