Quote of the Day: The Danger of the Label: Why We Should Never “Make Up Our Minds” by Jared Harding Wilson

by Jared Harding Wilson

We live in a world that loves a shortcut. One of the fastest shortcuts we take is the label.

Whether it’s a political stance, a mistake someone made years ago, or even a professional title, we tend to slap a sticker on people so we don’t have to do the hard work of truly knowing them. It’s like seeing a 40-year-old with a PhD and insisting they are “just a middle school graduate” because that was their status at age 13.

It’s lazy, it’s isolating, and it’s a trap. When we decide we finally “know” exactly who someone is, we rob them of their humanity and their right to grow.

A Lesson from the “Box Office Poison”

The playwright Philip Barry understood this better than most. In 1938, his close friend Katharine Hepburn was in trouble. Despite her massive talent, she had been labeled “box office poison” by the industry. The critics had made up their minds: Hepburn was done.

But Barry refused to accept the label. He wrote The Philadelphia Story specifically for her, creating the character of Tracy Lord. On the eve of her wedding in the play, Tracy utters the line:

“The time to make up your mind about people, is never.”

Hepburn didn’t just perform the line; she lived it. She bought the film rights to the play, negotiated her own terms, and staged one of the greatest career resurrections in history. She went on to win a record-breaking four Academy Awards, proving that a label is only a permanent cage if you—and the people around you—allow it to be.

The Myth of “Social” Media

Today, we see this “labeling” culture play out in real-time through our screens. We scroll, we judge, and we “cancel” based on a snippet of text or a single photo. We call it “social” media, but it often feels like the opposite. By reducing human beings to a digital profile, we stop trying to connect or work through the complexities of real life.

If we want to avoid the bitterness of the “troll” or the isolation of the “bully,” we have to leave the door open for people to surprise us.

The takeaway? Don’t be so quick to finish the book on someone. Leave the last chapter unwritten. Because, as Barry and Hepburn showed us, people are far more than the labels we give them.

🎭 Fun Trivia

On Katharine Hepburn:

• The Pants Pioneer: In an era of glamorous gowns, Hepburn was famous for wearing trousers before it was socially “acceptable.” She once said, “I realized long ago that skirts are hopeless. They’re like a birdcage.”

• The Record Holder: She holds the record for the most Best Actress Oscar wins (4), yet she never actually showed up to the ceremonies to collect them!

On Philip Barry:

• The “High Society” Specialist: Barry was famous for “Comedy of Manners” plays—witty stories about the wealthy. The famous musical High Society (starring Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly) is actually a remake of his play, The Philadelphia Story.

• The Hepburn Connection: Barry wrote several plays with Hepburn in mind. He was one of the few people who truly understood how to balance her “sharp edges” with her vulnerability.

Have you ever felt “labeled” by someone else, or realized you were unfairly labeling someone else? How do you try to stay open-minded in a world that wants us to pick sides? Leave a comment below—I’d love to hear your thoughts!