Identity and Lunacy

Sometimes our culture changes so slowly I don't even notice it. Sometimes it's fast enough to give me whiplash.

What has happened in the past month? And is there still a place left for truth in this world?

Bruce Jenner is now a 65-year-old supermodel named Caitlin. A white woman passing herself off as black, when asked point blank if she's African-American, replies, "I don't understand the question." Bruce "identifies" as a woman even though he's a man. Rachel Dolezal "identifies" black even though she's white. You can call yourself whatever you want, but what about still telling the truth?

I'm a brunette who "identifies" as a blonde (I was born one, after all), thus I'm prone to spending large amounts of money lightening my hair. But my driver's license lists my hair as brown. Because that's the truth, no matter how I feel about it.

At what point, I wonder, does "identifying" with something cross over into lunacy? What about a 36-year-old man who identifies as a teenager, and thus lives in his parents' basement and dates 17-year-olds? What about a poor person who identifies as rich and runs up tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt? Here's one that can't be long in coming: a person who identifies as a vampire and as such must satisfy his craving for human blood. Have we arrived at lunacy yet? Or do we have to get all the way to a person who identifies as a goat? Wouldn't we all agree that person has reached the point of insanity? Or will we all still walk around on eggshells, respecting his right to "identify" however he'd like?

I'm not talking about personal encounters with individuals. Nothing gives us the right to be mean or disrespectful to another human being. I read a Christianity Today article recently about how we should respond to transgender people who walk into our churches, and I agree that we need to get over ourselves and welcome them, awkward as that may be. Our job is not to berate them over their choices, but to point them to Jesus. What I'm talking about is a larger cultural move toward tolerance at all costs--even if the cost is truth. I know we've been headed this way for a long time, but we're picking up the pace. If someone "identifies" as something, anything, then it's legit, and anyone questioning the truth in that is a small-minded bigot.

Truth still matters. It may be beaten and battered and lay bleeding in our streets, but it has not been obliterated. We still need it, especially when we're talking about ourselves. We have freedom in this country to live how we want to live and to be known for whatever we want to be known for; we also have a responsibility to be honest. Rachel, be a white person who loves African-American culture and people and who tells the truth. That's the greatest advocacy you could offer.

(By the way, my money's on Rachel Dolezal becoming an internet millionaire off of hair products and extensions. Watch and see.)