by Nikolas Nies

Created on: April 29, 2010

Why does one aspect of a person’s life have to be so defining?  The divisiveness exists, in my opinion, because of the line that is drawn when everything about a person becomes about that one defining characteristic.  I don’t need to know that a politician is gay or straight.  I need to know how well that he or she will represent the issues that I hold true to my heart; how they will improve our society.

When someone purposefully sets himself or herself apart as different, they are seeking separation from others.  What about a homosexual is different other than their choice of partners?  What is different about race other than skin color, culture and sometimes language?  It is my opinion, based upon experience that sometimes a person will let one trait that seems to be a hot button issue define them as who they are.  “They didn’t hire me because I’m black!”  “That waiter was rude to me because…”   “He or she didn’t get elected because they are homosexual”.  
Would it never occur to people that they might be acting out of self-fulfilling prophecy?  You go into a situation expecting to be treated a certain way and your behavior is what initiates a negative response from others.

We seem to feel a need to put labels on people, our friends included.  Having friends that are of a different race, religion or any other characteristic doesn’t need to be expressed when talking to others about said friends.  When expressing something about a Hispanic friend to someone else, it is not required that I mention that my friend is Hispanic.  If I am talking about a Catholic friend and an act that he or she has performed, does it really matter that he is Catholic?  Unless the characteristic is the subject of the conversation, then it is not necessary to tell others of the quality that person possesses.  It only contributes to the separation we seem to hold on to with people who are different than us.

Until we, as a society drops the labels that we put on others, we will always have divisiveness.  That is not to say that in certain situations, certain characteristics become necessary to identify.  However, it is a slippery slope.  One could argue that a homosexual politician would be more apt to vote in line with the gay community.  But what about the other politicians that hold those same views that are not homosexuals?  What are we really concerned about when choosing a representative to tend to our needs in Washington?  The characteristic that indicates leadership should be the ones we desire in a candidate.  Honesty good character, integrity, and other positive traits should be the ones we seek in a candidate.  Candidates should quit smearing each other, and start talking about themselves.  Tell me why I should vote for you and not why I shouldn’t vote for the other person.

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