Label Libel

How we label every minute, every hour, everyday......we perceive and sort every person who crosses our path and every event that occurs in our lives. It is this facet of human nature that I find supremely fascinating. Our senses define who we are, what we see, hear, smell, touch and taste. We are constantly bombarded with information through these senses every second of our consciousness. How we process this information is vital to our cognition and our cognitive ability is directly proportional to our survival. This primitive instinct that makes a child cautious with fire when burned once or teaches her the difference between red and blue, takes on a different turn in the real world. Let's face it, we are not exactly hunting for food or fighting another tribe for our lives or livelihood. Instead, we now socialize for business and pleasure and sure as heck don't take any prisoners. So, people are branded and sorted before the first hello's are uttered and this is the same whether it is at a business meeting or at a school parking lot.


Pushy, inept, capable, pretty, trustworthy, polite, vile, promiscuous, clumsy, uptight, loud, skinny, creepy, detailed, vociferous, energetic are all words that we use to describe one another. We are pressed for time and take a mere few seconds to judge and classify. Just like the labels on products, the labels that we use on one another stick for ever, and like some product labels, they are not very accurate.....it is all a matter of perception. It is just like our brain relies on light reflected from an object to form an image, our thoughts about someone or ourselves seem to rely on these reflected labels. It is not always a personality label that is stamped on....some are pre-existing, like religion, race, color or ethnicity.


So, what will happen to these labels on judgement day? Will the Type A's be impatient and the fidgety be nervous? Will the dramatic throw a tantrum and the inhibited cry silently? Will the selfish gather their kin and the honorable gather the young and the sick? Will the romantic be holding hands and the witty be spreading cheer? Will the aggressive get a better seat on the bus to beyond? Will the talented get selected or will the resourceful? Will the angry be angry and the obnoxious still so? Will the overconfident be confident and the reticent huddle? Will the deceitful try and cheat and the selfish, plunder? Will the venomous spew and the lewd feel lascivious? Will the bewildered be confused and the spiritual be praying softly? Will the efficient be making lists and the orators making a speech? Will the punctual be on time and the eager be ready? Will the shopaholic make one last purchase and the compulsive complete one last routine? Will the pleasant, smile and the belligerent, scowl? Will the great divine embrace us all in exactly the same way or sort, classify, label and judge?