Labels can simplify stances

I hate labels. Not the labels that help you distinguish salt from sugar, but the labels that people put on others in an attempt to stop dialogue, discredit arguments and to remain in their own narrow version of reality. Several common labels nowadays are liberal/conservative, yuppie/hippie, for us/against us. Nothing is black and white, so why do we insist on placing others in such dichotomies?

Let”s discuss the liberal/conservative labels. Now, some people might consider me to be a complete and total bleeding-heart liberal. But I tend to shy away from categorizing myself. Perhaps on certain political and social issues I am technically a liberal, but on others I am downright conservative. So where does that place me? In the center? Nope, I don”t really fit there either. So I guess I must be stuck in the no man”s land of political divisions, not fitting neatly into any category.

One label that is getting a lot of play these days is hippie. Apparently at the end of the “60s, a bunch of hippies were cryogenically frozen and now they have all been brought back to life! How else to explain the sudden influx of hippies into our current political climate? Anyone who has an opinion that is at odds with the right-of-center view is suddenly transformed into a pot-smoking, tie-dyed, tree-hugging hippie. It doesn”t matter if you are a Wall Street banker or conscientious student; they all fall under the hippie rubric if they share certain political views. According to some, the new wave of anti-war activism is merely a bunch of anti-American hippies. First of all, as someone who is anti-war, I am most definitely not a hippie; after all, I would never be caught wearing tie-dye.

Besides, if we examine the reality, some interesting things pop out. For instance, 90 percent of British people are against the war with Iraq, and British newspapers estimate that several million Europeans protested the war a few weekends ago. Now, I”m not positive, but last time I checked it, seemed like Great Britain is probably one of the most pro-American countries around–not too many American flags are burning there. And since when did 90 percent of Britain turn into erstwhile hippies? To take a few examples closer to home, some polls show the majority of the American public is currently against war with Iraq, along with quite a few high-ranking political and military leaders. City councils all across the nation have been passing anti-war resolutions and more than a million people turned out across America to protest war, the largest protests since Vietnam. How can all of these people, especially those who serve and have served our country, simply be brushed off as being anti-American?

For many, the source of their activism comes from a desire to help improve this nation, not just domestically but in its interactions with the whole world. To protest war, or any other governmental action, is simply to make your voice heard. After all, in a democracy the people have the right to dissent–it is this dissent that forces change. Calling those who disagree with the government anti-American is like calling abolitionists in the age of slavery anti-American. After all, both groups disagree with a specific governmental policy, but I have not heard anyone ever call abolitionists anti-American. Obviously mere dissent doesn”t turn people anti-American.

To close your ears to the voices and thoughts of others because they choose to disagree (or agree) with the president is a total intellectual and moral loss.

In order for any of us to ever learn, grow and mature, we need to learn to look beyond what we think we see. To simply stick a label on someone and move on is not conducive to finding out the truth. Anti-war activists are not hippies or anti-American, and pro-war people are not bloodthirsty fans of human rights abuses.

Liberal or conservative? In the end, it does not really matter. We all need to take people”s opinions for what they are and try to resist the urge to categorize. Most people do not fit neatly into one category. Who would want to, anyway?

Lubna Alam is a senior studying history.