Fairness and Equality

There are things I have been hearing a lot about lately and I want to discuss some of the things people are talking about. The election is a big deal. I voted for Barrack Obama in the last election and I’ll vote for him again this November. I am a Democrat but I occasionally vote for measures that the Democratic Party does not endorse or support. Voting is my way to express my voice in this large country and I am not about to automatically vote for any set of propositions. I believe in being as educated and informed as I can be when I vote. I believe in government regulation of business, higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to bear arms. I consider myself an American above and beyond all things. I am a spiritual person, a witch to be specific, but if I have to lay claim to any document that I consider sacred that document is probably the Declaration of Independence (or at least the second sentence of it). I am more passionate and faithfully an American than I am a witch, that I can admit fully. I believe in my duty as an American to uphold and defend the intrinsic promises of democracy. I am a sincere and devout believer in human rights.

The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, although I’m sure you’ve heard it before, has this to say:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We are not all created equal.

Yes, I know, I just said that I hold that sentence up as if it is scripture and now I am saying the opposite. Different religious groups interpret Biblical scripture differently, often to account for factual errors in the Bible. My interpretation of equality might be different.

We are not all born the same. Some of us are born with higher IQs some of us are born with mental illnesses. Some of us, most of us, are terribly average. Some children are born to wealthy parents, some children are born in poverty, and others are (again) average. We tend to believe and we tend to teach our children that they are born utterly unique and special. So, how can we say that we are all created equal?

We are all created equal in the eyes of the law. We are all equal in respect and dignity. We are all human and we are (if we are born or naturalized into the United States) citizens of the nation. This means that we are equal, even when we are not the same. Equality does not mean sameness.

On the same subject I would like to touch of the fairness of equality and the difference between fairness and sameness.

Treating everyone the same is not necessarily fair. This country has a long history of showing that separate but equal is not equal in the real world.

So, what is treating people fairly if it is not treating people the same?

Treating people fairly is about giving people what they need and deserve---which is not the same as what they want. 

(That is not to say that we should bring back separate but equal.)

You may find this hard to believe but sometimes teachers object to children with dyslexia having transparent blue-tinted screens to help them read. The objection is that providing help to some children and not all is discriminatory and unfair. This is preposterous, of course, but in case you don’t agree I will give you a more extreme example.

Imagine you just walked into a classroom. A teacher is standing over a student who is on the ground and his face is blue. He needs CPR. The teacher tells you that she will not give CPR to the child because it would be unfair to the other students. She insists that if she gives CPR to one student then she will have to give CPR to all of the students and she doesn’t have the resources (time and money). You would have that teacher arrested, I hope.

Does fair treatment mean equal treatment? Clearly, not in this case. What is equal should be opportunity. All citizens should have the same opportunities to excel and achieve both as children and also as adults. Those who are in need ought to be given what they need and those who are deserving ought to be rewarded. Citizens who have reaped more rewards from the system that provided them with the same opportunities as those who were not as successful ought to put more back into the system. I believe in higher taxes for the wealthy because I believe that those who make more deserve to pay more, the same way I believe my significant other deserves to carry a larger portion of the groceries we buy together because he is physically capable of carrying more than I am.

That is not to say that people shouldn’t pay their own share of taxes. In a healthy and economically sound society the middle class pays for itself, effectively, and the wealthy pay for themselves and those who are poverty stricken. Those who are poverty stricken are obviously not going to pay for themselves (as far as taxes) because they can’t afford to buy groceries or pay rent without help. So, what would you tax them? Yes, this is the IRS calling. We’d like to charge your taxes through a blood “donation" this year.



I am  passionate about the promises inherent in democracy. I am passionate about human rights, aid for the poor, the sick, the disabled, and the elderly. I also believe that along with our rights we have responsibilities as Americans. I have a duty to defend the rights of others, especially if I am to have any expectation that they will help to defend my own rights. We as Americans are a community, we are a society that works together to help each other---or else what are civilizations for? Look to the origins of society, when cavemen and women huddled together in times of darkness, drought, starvation, and illness.

If not for that then why do we form families, communities, and nations?
We stand together because we have made commitments to each other to ensure our mutual success, our mutual health and well-being. And it has been our greatest shame that we have struggled for so long to honor that promise to each other by neglecting health care reform.

People (Mitt Romney in particular) have said that the health care reform is about a sense of entitlement. First of all, a man that wealthy doesn't get to lecture me about a sense of entitlement. It would be a joke.

But we do feel that there are things that our government has the responsibility to govern, or else we wouldn't have a government. Health care reform is needed to regulate the health care industry. I'm not talking about your friendly neighborhood doctor who does not fraudulently bill you or Medicare. I am talking about health insurance companies that have made record profits throughout the economic downturn. I am taking about health care organizations that fraudulently bill Medicare and patients. I am talking about government negotiating with medical equipment companies and big pharma to lower the cost of medications and equipment for everyone.

What can make me ashamed of our government is that other countries have been doing these things for years. We have long known the problem, we have long known the solutions, and yet We. Did. Nothing---for over seventy years!
Healthy citizens are more productive and better able to contribute to society as a whole. Someone who is disabled, given reasonable accommodations, can be a leader or a doctor or a business man. We can build great things together if we will only stand together and help each other.

We have already built great things together. Our country has clean water access and postal routes just about.everywhere. Imagine if the argument about health care reform were to clean water were  to be applied to your water access. How dare you feel entitled to clean water at an affordable price. The government doesn't have the right and shouldn't try to regulate your utility company. Your utility company ought to be able to price gauge the same way that the gas station does, the same way your insurance company does. What would you end up paying for your water?

We as a country have other shames, too. The state of our health care system is perhaps the greatest shame but it is one of many.