Introduction

We need to stop using labels to either define ourselves or to categorize others. Labels like left, right, progressive and conservative are mindless substitutes for actual thought and productive discussion. Cliches like “Lock her up.”, “Trump the dictator.” “Baby killer.” and “You are against women’s rights.” are also not arguments as much as empty-headed claims that anyone who disagrees is an idiot or worse. Kinda makes me yearn for the return of the 20-second sound bite. By comparison, that was real discourse. 

That is the subject of today’s 10-minute blog/podcast.

Continuing

I believe that America is a unique and exceptional place, and that you have an equally unique and exceptional role to play in it. Today’s podcast, and there are two a week, Tuesday and Friday each and every week, goes into more depth about how to fill that role. My last podcast had specific ideas about self-talk. Today it is about no labels and common goals.

A Revolution 2.0™ subscriber, G. O. in Denver, was agreeing with this no label position by observing that Revolution 2.0 espouses looking at policies rather than politics. Exactly. We have a bingo. Don’t ask me what label I am. That will lead to you assuming what I believe on a variety of issues--likely to be wrong, easily having mis-guessed my thinking based on a label. Labels like: Conservative. Liberal. Republican. Libertarian. Moderate. Democrat. Progressive. Independent. Fiscal conservative. Social liberal. Those are the benign descriptors that people apply to themselves. 

Now let’s look at the labels that are often applied to others: “Libtard”, “Trumpist”, and, “You’re a Fascist,” “No, you’re a fascist.” These labels cannot possibly identify, educate and inform; they are simply insults. And we often hurl these “labels” at each other. 

We have weaponized labels.

Stop.

Restart.

Think and speak about issues, not labels.

I started my political life thinking that I was a Democrat. After all, they are the ones who want to help people. Right? Then I thought I was a Republican. They are the responsible ones. Yes? I really thought that I knew who I was politically when I heard Jimmy Carter say that he was a fiscal conservative and a social liberal. Ah. Perfect.

For many years, I was happy with describing myself the way then candidate and later President Carter described himself. But as the political landscape has become dysfunctionally more polarized, the original definitions of Mr. Carter’s terms have become obsolete. “Fiscal conservative” no longer means simply handling taxpayer money efficiently and having tax and regulatory policies that support robust, responsible economic growth. For many, it is coming to mean that you are at least somewhat suspicious of the Federal Reserve, support a return to the gold standard, and want a retreat to the original Federal Income Tax rate of 2%. Similarly, “social liberal” used to mean, at least to me, live and let live when it came to lifestyles. Now, it seems to be morphing into meaning “anything goes.” And not only simple tolerance for the “anything” that’s going; we have growing numbers of groups demanding elaborate accomodations for, well, just about anyone who declares themselves to be different. So now what do I do? How do I describe myself politically? Can I find a home? Let’s create a new home by dropping labels and talking about issues and common goals.

I describe myself as a man seeking common goals. (How’s that for a party name?) Don’t most of us share the same common, bedrock goals? I don’t mean desires that many share like wanting this party or this candidate to win (or the other party or person to lose), I mean the core, meaningful, underlying goals that most of us share. Find the common  ground (yes, it exists),