Labelling Leads To Division — Realise That We Are In This Together
There Is No Difference Between Anyone Or Anything
Irrespective of what “-ism” you subscribe to or whatever “-ist” you call yourself, you are likely labelling and causing a division. As soon as you are for something you are at the same time against that which stands in opposition to what you are for. These are simple laws of polarity, for something to exist, there has to be an opposite aspect defining the existence of the first. You cannot have light without dark, happy without sad, soft without hard, etc. This concept is one of those existential conundrums that can help you on your path to enlightenment; how do two polarities exist at the same time in the same moment and how do you accept them as equal without any judgement?
The reason why I am delving into this rather complex topic is that I have always have had an issue with the approach of most “-ists” take to solve any inequality, imbalances and other unjust societal imposition that may exist. I have always been a supporter, passive perhaps yet a supporter, of minorities, feminists, etc, but it is the notion of “us vs them” that I have found it challenging to reconcile with. I don’t think anything is ever gained by an activist claiming that whatever has been done to them should be in turn be done to the perceived perpetrator, e.g. all men have to disappear to give women their rights (an actual stance of some feminists). Such views merely perpetuates the same ill that the activist was against to begin with. So if you are for something, however benign it may appear, you are against that which it stands in polarity to, you can’t escape it, sorry. Well, actually there might be a way.
This philosophy was triggered with my by a conversation I was having with one of my readers on ‘Medium’; Lindz Marie (thank you for the prod!). I started out thinking that “We have to be for humanity, then we will not be against any other human”. Clearly I was not thinking big enough, because I now put myself in polarity to the earth and any other living thing out there that is not human. This thinking is what is causing the environmental crisis we experience today, so nope, that was not going to fly. Then I tried “any living thing”, just to end up in polarity with inanimate objects. I am currently at “energy”, but due to the Law of Polarity there has to be an opposite of energy as well, which I can only conclude is the absence of energy. Stretching it this far brings it to the edge of our existence and it can help us take a far kinder view of our fellow humans irrespective of their viewpoints, they are simply the same energy as you.
Labelling has been used by the powers that be for as long as there have been power structures as a means to exert control. Create an “us vs. them” scenario and start arguing why we are better than them and why we should fear them and you have a controllable faction whose attention is diverted away from the power you exert over them. Give it long enough and they will not question the power, it becomes self-perpetuating, until enough people wake up to the illusion of power of course and then the power structure will crumble. What we need to wake up to, for the purposes of this discussion, is that the divisions that exist between different groups in society are illusions. Men in general do not wish to be on anything but equal footing with women, white people in general do not wish to be on anything but equal footing of anyone who is not white. The list of course goes on, but the idea is that it is not in our true nature to be against since we all of the same; the collective consciousness. It is our ego construct that tells us that we are different. That construct has been built up and established for generations upon generations so it is a tough nut to crack. However, then you have a white privileged man who has held conservative views most his life, wake up and start questioning everything and deconstructing that ego bit for bit. This type of awakening is becoming very common and that is why we are seeing the power structures all over the world shake in their foundations. The point is, all you have to do is to shift your consciousness away from the label and look at yourself as part of the much, much, much bigger picture to take yourself out of the place of opposition.
The only way to engage in constructive dialogue across societal divides is to recognise yourself in the ones on the other side of that divide. Rip off the label and replace it with a sign that says “HUMAN” and treasure your differences. You are now equals. You may still not be equals in the eyes of society, but if we all make this shift then society has no choice than to do the same. As long as you are a feminist, gender inequality will persist. As long as you are socialist, social injustices will endure. As long as you are a racist, you will attract confrontation with those that are of different skin colour from you. I am not telling you to give up the struggle for equality, only to shift it from your label to the fight for all that exists. Recognise the right for everything to pursue its true purpose and recognise the pure beauty of its nuances.
Ripping off the label is the start of your own personal revolution. Good luck!
Photo by Helena Hertz on Unsplash
Originally published at Spirited Reality.
