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Zimba's Blog

January 21, 2009

Labels

I've never been a big fan of labels. I understand they serve a purpose to group people, but they are also tools of the lazy. We are all individuals and you do a disservice if you don't consider our individual particularities.

In the poker world, we often type players at the table; a TAG (tight-aggressive), a LAG (loose-aggressive), loose passive, and weak tight. The more you play, the more you realize that those labels alone aren't enough. Individual players deviate from a label. They play different situations differently than others within that lable that make them harder to simply type by a simple label. You need to assess them more deeply before trying to apply a label and make decisions based on that label.

The particular incident that set me off to write this blog was a line in Barrack Obama's inaugural address. Besides the obvious gaffe at his swearing in with Justice Roberts, I feel he made another significant gaffe in his speech. Two-thirds of the way through his speech he said "For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus --- and non-believers." While it would be hard to come up with an easy label to convey other than Christian, Muslim, Jew or Hindu, I think it deserves more consideration than that.

What exactly is a non-believer? And why did he throw that in as almost an afterthought. I did some quick research this morning and found that somewhere between 15% to 25% of Americans consider themselves other than a particular religious label. Amongst the younger generations those numbers might be significantly higher. Some might be atheists, some agnostic and many more are like me. I am not a religious label. My faith is a patchwork. Like President Obama, I consider it a strength, not a weakness. I have spent my life taking the best parts of whatever religions, beliefs and philosophies I have encountered. I have spent my life trying to make sense of the seeming senseless and contradictory. There are many things I believe in; my wife, my kids, my family, and my work. I believe in hard work, honesty, discipline, and diligence. I believe in being a thinking, considerate, and contributing member of society. I believe in giving back to others less fortunate.

Barrack Obama won this pivotal election in part because he was inclusive. He gives hope because he represents all those dispossessed and underrepresented in the past. Even the more mainstream or conservative elements could identify with his leadership, management style, and oratory skills. He is an affirmation that anyone can ascend to the highest highs. In a speech peppered with God and religious labels, I feel President Obama could have given better credit to those others. I want to be seen as the positive contributing individual that I feel I am.

Entry Tags: obama, non-believer

Jan 21, 09 14:02:33

Father and entrepreneur denote no judgment, but non-believer has a stigma attached to it. Maybe I've watched too much Monty Python, but most non believers were persecuted throughout history.

Zimba

Jan 21, 09 15:41:41

Z, I erased my comment because after looking at it I can see why you would take exception to being identified in the negative.

Father and Entrepreneur tell me what you are while non-believer tells me what you are not.

jtphila

Jan 21, 09 18:39:52

I know I'm being picky but the things you list that you believe in make up a philosophy rather than a religion. Interesting post though, in the UK politics has distanced itself from religion significantly compared to the US so I have not thought about it. We may as well just get to the point and stop calling you guys non-believer and go for "heathen" instead.

squiloogle