We live in a world of names. We are taught the names of things as soon as we learn to listen and speak. Cat, shoe, cloud, and milk are words we know and agree upon. But by changing the context or use of a word we can create a different feeling, perhaps even a strong emotional response. For instance someone called "Catty" will react differently from someone referred to as the 'Cat's Meow".

I've been called lots of names. My real name is Elizabeth Ann Throckmorton Kellett. Sounds pretentious, right? In another time, I might have been referred to as a Blue Blood. In fact the family castle still exists in England, though I've never been there and was raised by my widowed mother in a modest suburban Jewish neighborhood. She struggled to make ends meet after the death of my father and we were hardly wealthy. So I was never called Rich Bitch, though I was referred to as Four Eyes, Tomboy and One-of-the-Twins. We weren't Jewish either, and that never seemed to matter until the day I told a friend's mother that my mothers' family came from Germany. After that, my 'friend' referred to me as 'Jew Killer'. She didn't seem to care that my family had actually come from Germany in the 1700s and had nothing to do with the Holocaust. She never spoke to me again.

So names can identify you but also create a false sense of who you actually are. I am a woman, mother, white and a naturalist. Can you picture me in your mind? What about if I said I was a meat-eater and a crack shot? Now picture a diabetic cancer survivor with one kidney, a bad back and high blood pressure. Does the image change?

I am more than a name and more than what you may think I am. So are you. That's what makes life so interesting. After all, we breathe the same air, we eat and sleep and love. I may like red and you may like blue. I may like to read and you may like to play video games. Perhaps you pray with your eyes closed and I pray while I hold my breath. Does it really matter? That doesn't make me right or you wrong. Or make you evil and me holy. Our differences are what make us alike and names meant to divide us will only bring hate and misunderstanding.

Ultimately, we want the same things - good food, clean water, safe homes, and opportunities for our children. Labeling others and name calling will let you make assumptions about your neighbors that may or may not be true. So give them a break and the benefit of the doubt.

I say celebrate your differences and look at the other side. Let us work for the good of all and realize we each represent the best of the best. Don't judge someone based on their skin or gender, place of employment or house of worship. Look beneath their political views and avoid labeling and naming others. Calling someone a "Lefty" in a derogatory manner is as offensive as calling someone a Redskin or a Faggot or any other disparaging name. Listen to yourself and how you label and judge others. You may learn to be less judgmental and open up to new friends and alliances.

United we stand - divided we fall - a saying that is as true today as ever.

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