In the summer of 1776, a document was commissioned that would establish and qualify – among other things – the existence of certain obvious truths that required no explanation: That we were provided – through the auspices of a higher power – the absolute and undisputed rights for life, liberty, and the privilege to pursue happiness. Another truth that was accepted beyond reproach (ostensibly as viewed by the gentry of the time) was that we were all created equal. In essence, that document laid the groundwork for acknowledging the rights of the populace to live in equality. Apparently, those two words have grown quite chummy over the years. And like many couples can attest, such closeness has a tendency to change those in the relationship. Sometimes for good; others, not so much. In this contextual case, in equality have undergone a gradual but seemingly unavoidable conversion into inequality, and we’ve been fighting over it ever since.
Before I go on, I’d like to reprint a thought I wrote over 25 years ago:
One basic issue must be understood before all others: We are all of the same kind, the same flesh, and the same beginning. Your interpretation of this tenet does not diminish its value, change its meaning, nor does it allow you to condemn it to anonymity or disarray.
I feel comfortable in writing that none of us can point with absolute certainty to the moment in history when the scourge of inequality came into being. Although my opening remarks paint a rather idealistic view of how the concept of equality was established in the United States, the founding fathers didn’t invent it – that is a concept that has been around for centuries. I have no aspirations to delve into the genesis of that concept called equality; that is a matter for minds far wiser and more patient than mine. What I do wish to address is the concept of equality and inequality as it exists within the microcosm of today’s world. That means you.
For argument sake, let’s forget religion, philosophy, mathematics (yes, the first concepts of equality came from math), money and, of course, politics. Let’s get away from the beliefs social scientists hold that we will never reach social equality because it’s an ongoing process of growth. In deference to John Lennon, let’s imagine there’s no inequality; I wonder if you can.
Another small caveat: This is a huge subject; this is a sensitive subject. Some might consider it to be a trigger; others may not. And as much as I would love to engage folks on this subject from various vantage points, I cannot – at least, not in this venue. Instead, I want to address the microcosm I wrote of earlier from the standpoint of our make-up as human beings. Forget money, status, birthright, color, religion, living situations, physical traits or attributes. This is about your species; our species.
Regardless of where you happened to be located on this Earth when you made your grand (albeit somewhat cumbersome) entrance, you came into this existence as a human being. Homo Sapiens – the wise human. All temptations aside for making fun of that moniker, we are decidedly (but not undeniably) one of the world’s top apex creatures. What we lack in fangs, fur, and fierceness, we make up for in brains (again, I will resist the temptation to make fun of that assertion.) In these statements, we are all equal. With the exception of genetic anomalies, we all have the same number of limbs, internal organs, sensory perceptions, brain (again, resist that urge for a moment), and the same proclivities towards handling things like gravity, balance, and reproduction. That is our species; our group. If you’re old enough to remember Revell’s Invisible Man and Invisible Woman models from the 1970s, envision our generic models as such.
Here is where the road splits.
As we slowly clawed our way up the evolutionary hill, we wise humans decided that all the inherent gifts from nature were not quite enough. At least, not from the standpoint of being able to celebrate our individuality; our uniqueness. So we started to tack on designations; labels that would identify our traits, beliefs, possessions, and attributes that helped us to forge kinships, create classifications, establish factions, and help refute that nagging idea that equality exists across a wide spectrum of humanity.
Classifications are not evil; nothing in moderation is. But the manner in which they’re employed begins to erode the concept of equality from the inside. If something (or someone) is perceived as less than others, we automatically attribute a lesser value to it. If a lesser value exists, then we ascribe a lesser importance to it. If something is perceived as less important, then there’s less of a moral compunction to eliminate it or cast it aside. We may not wish to react to others in such a clinical fashion; most of us never do. But the underpinnings of inequality will have their foundation forged in the subliminal messaging, and many will find it easier to cross certain lines, especially when combined with the dynamic of groupthink. Inequality isn’t a choice; it’s a matter of conditioning that takes time to develop – to fester – yet it takes only moments to give it the forward momentum it needs on that slippery slope towards inhumanity.
The following (and slightly adapted) quote is attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes: A person’s mind, stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions. As absurd as it is to think of inequality as a new idea, the basic premise behind this quote still holds true. Once our minds have been stretched to accept equality as some type of formulaic determinism, the outcome for inequality will expand commensurate to the bias we slather on top of basic logic, decency, and common sense. We need to be reminded that, in order to be in good graces with our fellow wise humans, we need to, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, be in touch with the better angels of our nature. We need to understand that equality is the only bedrock upon which to establish any form of judgmental classification; one that places its weight on the competencies, knowledge, insights, morals, and perspicacity of the wise human at the other end of any critical opinion.
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