Too Much Emphasis on "Identity"

These days, one of the hottest topics of discussion seems to be that of "identity."

It seems like there are vast amounts of public discussion about what people identify as and what their pronouns are and it also extends into nationality and sexuality and religion and beyond.

I'm not here to point fingers at anybody nor to criticize any particular group, instead I'm interested in asking the question why so much emphasis on identity?

Why are people so obsessed with finding a particular label or a box that they can get behind and then turn around and have it serve as their entire self-definition?

I recognize that it's nice to feel like you're part of a group or community, but there's also going overboard.

Granted, I'm old and gray at this point in my life, but I don't really care about identity. I'm not saying I don't care about somebody's right to identify as whatever they want to... I just don't care about the overall topic of pursuing identity. Maybe it is some kind of "privilege" or whatever you want to call it but I just don't identify. As anything.

Sure, there's a name printed in my passport along with my date and place of birth but what's there is merely a bit of information about me. It's not really my identity, as such. It's handy for the purpose of legal classification and travel... but beyond that?

Similarly, I could say that I "identify" as being Danish, or I identify as an introvert, or I identify as having ADHD and so on and so forth but I also see those things as simply bits of information about me. They are definitely attributes but they are not identity.

Evidently this approach to life makes me a bit of a freak of nature.

I remember sitting in a self development workshop almost 25 years ago and one of the exercises we went into was to see what people were attached to, in terms of self-definition. It turned out that I wasn't really attached to anything and that was evidently very strange to people. Ultimately, I see myself as being, and that's about all.

I've been told that this is very consistent with the tenets of non-duality... which is not something I identify with either, although I do understand the basic premise. But I don't identify with it. I don't need to be part of some secret "club."

Sometimes, I can't help but feel that some of the strife and violence we see in the world is simply the result of people being too closely aligned with their identity and subsequently feeling threatened by other identities that are not the same as theirs.

I think people spend too much time and energy on setting themselves apart into little identity groups, rather than exploring how they can connect with others.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great remainder of the week!

How about YOU? Do you identify strongly, in some way? Is "identity" important to you? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2026.08.26 01:01 PDT
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