You’ve heard people say it, and you may have even said it yourself, “Labels suck.” But don't we in some ways need them? With no labels how can we have an intelligent conversation about where our belief systems differ?

We want to get rid of labels because of the judgmental attitudes that often surround them. We think, “Labels suck, and those who use them suck too.” But the very nature of language requires labels: We use words to describe actions and things. All language is metaphor—that is precisely why German and English use different words to describe the same thing. Aristotle was one of the first to point this out when in a lengthy discussion, he says (in summary): “a table is not a table in its essence; it is wood. And wood comes from a tree, and trees have component parts (sap, bark, roots, etc.).” So, language is labeling.

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