A World Where We’re Defined by Our Humanity
I’m not here to convert you. I’m here to invite a shift in your perspective and challenge the comfort of your preconceived convictions.
In a world and age where we have the will—and the right in most places here on our beautiful Earth—to associate ourselves with certain groups, beliefs, or mindsets, I keep coming back to one question: why is it that “-ism” is viewed in such a poor light?
No matter who you are—your politics, your party, your beliefs, your stance, your story—this is relevant to you.
Because this isn’t about “sides.” It’s about what we’re feeding the words we use to define one another.
It genuinely puzzles me how a suffix used to create an action, practice, characteristic, principle, doctrine, or devotion somehow became a common stamp for prejudice. And I wonder why we haven’t shifted the focus—why we don’t start a change by paying attention to the root word instead. Why do we damn the affix, when the subject meaning lives in what we attach it to?
Because yes, it’s used to define sex-ism, rac-ism, separat-ism, terror-ism… but it’s also used to define hero-ism, do-good-ism, perspectiv-ism.
So maybe the problem isn’t “-ism.” Maybe the problem is what we’re feeding it.
No matter your politics, this is for you
And before anyone assumes this is aimed at one group or one side—no matter who you are or what you believe politically, this is for you.
I say that with my whole chest because I’ve lived the swing of it.
I used to be more liberal. Then I found myself leaning more conservative. And now? Now I’m in this place where I don’t want the label at all.
I want to be the one to define myself—not to be lumped into a party and assumed to think, feel, and move in a neat little box. That might be my trauma speaking, but I am thankful that I have arrived at this very moment in my life’s journey.
I want the freedom to define myself.
To be known by my actions.
By how I treat people.
By what I’m willing to stand up for.
By what I’m willing to learn.
By how I show up when it’s inconvenient, not just when it’s comfortable.
Echo chambers feel safe—and still shrink us
And I’ll be honest—when I’ve stayed in groups that only shared my perspective, it became a limiting echo chamber.
It didn’t expand me; it shrunk me.
It didn’t challenge me; it comforted me.
And comfort without challenge is where growth goes to die.
I want to be around people who don’t always think like me, because I enjoy thinking about things differently.
I enjoy being stretched.
I enjoy finding the places where my certainty needs humility, and my assumptions need light.
I’ve found that when I am challenged in what I think and how I think about things, I sometimes double down and assert my convictions, stand behind my school of thought… but other times I don’t.
Don’t be afraid of a different perspective than your own, because it doesn’t mean you are wrong or that someone else is wrong… it is not anything deeper than a difference of opinion.
(And yes—this is scientific, too. In science we don’t fear labels—we examine what they’re attached to, how they behave, and what they produce in the real world. Language deserves that same rigor.)
Fuel the love. Fuse the lines.
Change the perspective. We are all one. We are diversified. We are beautiful—and our differences make us stronger together, not weaker apart.
Fuel the love and fuse the lines. Don’t let hate separate and divide us.
Listening to Dr. King, and feeling inspired to write what sets my soul on fire, I see something within our grasp: a world of equality. No racial disparities. No poverty. A world where “-ism” isn’t more frequently attached to prefixes that represent what we’re against, but instead becomes a language of values we stand for.
A world where we embrace differences instead of tearing down others’ philosophies and ideologies just to make our own feel bigger. A world where we don’t live from a defensive position, constantly bracing for the next catastrophe.
A time when I can be me and you can be you.
A world where we’re defined by our humanity
Our differences are beautiful—each of us a work of art. Be your view from a scientific place, a religious place, a political place, a social perspective, or any other position.
We need to stop focusing all of our energy on why we believe what we believe and using it as fuel to convince others that our viewpoint and our journey is more valued, more moral, more enlightened, or more important than another’s.
Believe what you believe. Stand proud. Appreciate the liberties we have to possess convictions—and to voice them.
And then—just as fiercely—appreciate that someone else may arrive at a meaningful conclusion on a completely different path. Value their perspective, because it might reveal an angle of truth you never had the opportunity to see before that moment.
I believe that we are all good at heart, and we all want to do good and be happy—and sometimes we just get a bit lost on our way.
I challenge you to lean into that discomfort and let the spark of curiosity guide you (GGSC has a great piece on bridging across differences here). Why does that person’s perspective bother you so? No—do not stop at “because they’re wrong,” or other degrading comments toward the other. Truly become curious, and you may learn something about yourself you did not know before.
Finish the mission
We need to stop fighting about the specifics of how we got to where we are—especially if the journey isn’t completed.
We can reflect at our conclusion, the end of our mission. But if we’re halfway there—whether it’s a task, a goal, a project—this isn’t a time to bicker.
It’s a time to persevere and finish.
If this resonated with you, tell me—where have you outgrown a label?
Leave a Reply