Enough, Already, with the "Brand You"

I'm tired of hearing that I'm responsible for building "Brand Me". Yes, I get it -- if I don't present myself on the Web, the Web will present me, whether I want it or not (I thought I'd destroyed all the photos of me wearing '70s "fashions", but apparently not). And while I do want to give potential clients a clear picture of what I can do for them, the reality is that there's more to me than just "Brand Me".

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend. I don't know whether he'd describe himself as a conservative or a libertarian, but he came up with a great program by which federal taxes could be eliminated, and replaced by government bonds. In effect, he said, the government would be like any other investment, and if I thought it was worth while, I could buy bonds; and if I didn't, well, there were plenty of other places I could put my money. There were enough people who supported various government programs, he asserted, that taxes could be completely eliminated and it would have little effect on government revenues.

He was so pleased when he presented his thesis to me. He had already run it by a number of economists -- even Nobel Prize winners -- and they had all been impressed by his logic. What did I think of it?

It makes sense, I said, except that I'm not just an economic Consumer. I'm a Citizen. I consider taxes to be, as Oliver Wendell Holmes said, the price I pay for civilization.

Yes, "Brand Me" is important. But I'm more than that fundamentally economic label. I'm a citizen, a spouse, an ethicist, a gardener ... and much more besides. Let's stop reducing people to the level of their spending habits.