The sun shines during the day but not at night. Some think that\u2019s unfair. Don\u2019t try to make the sun fair, though, because it won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n
According to Darwin\u2019s theory of evolution, the animal world is all about the survival of the fittest. People are animals, too, although, we don\u2019t catch and eat each other. Not typically. I hope… Anyway, our \u201csurvival\u201d is metaphorical. We divide ourselves into haves and have-nots at the two extremes of the spectrum with a few gradations in between like so-so-haves, ok-haves, almost-haves, et cetera. Each gradation loves to complain about the higher-ups taking away the means of survival. Millionaires sometimes complain about billionaires being unfair, which is truly grotesque.<\/p>\n
It is interesting to observe complainers who can\u2019t stop wanting more despite having a lot. These folks ought to get over themselves. There are so many of these \u201cvictims of unfairness\u201d nowadays that it\u2019s easy to miss people who are actually treated unfairly.<\/p>\n
What can be done to restore fairness?<\/p>\n
Teaching children about fairness from an early age is, probably, the most important thing to do. Unfortunately, our teaching them doesn\u2019t guarantee much success because concepts like objectivity, neutrality, tolerance, impartiality, sanity, and many more escape us. Speaking of sanity, for example, if you think the sun needs to shine at night, we are all screwed. And even if you\u2019ve changed your mind and now think it\u2019s fair for the sun to shine only during the day, we are still screwed. Arguably, we are even more screwed in the latter case.<\/p>\n
Turns out, for all intents and purposes, the majority of us are, as a British lawmaker once remarked, nutters. It\u2019s a miracle some of us manage to strike a fair balance. No wonder we can\u2019t teach our children about fairness, or, if we think we taught them something about it, it\u2019s, usually, crap. We can\u2019t even figure it out ourselves.<\/p>\n
The justice system – the very foundation and reflection of a fair society – is supposed to be… fair. It would be most of the time if only nutters like us stayed out of it.<\/p>\n
We see fairness differently. Some of us believe it\u2019s fair to treat each other unfairly. In fact, to redefine the term, unfairness is fair so much so that those of us who subscribe to such \u201cblack is white\u201d notions will use them as foundations for a \u201cscorched Earth\u201d approach on any topic. This approach is devoid of logic, logic being also unfair, I suppose.<\/p>\n
How can I, possibly, justify racism, or sexism, or ageism, or any other \u201dism?\u201d I can\u2019t, yet its prevalence throughout history suggests some kind of a struggle of, possibly, existential proportions. It’s almost as if we persist in our “isms” in order to weed out the fittest, or so it seems. It’s the necessary evil, one might say.<\/p>\n
The struggle, however, is within us, I believe, and has nothing to do with others being of a different race, the opposite sex, an older age, or whatnot. When a personal struggle is projected onto others, it is not a sign of fitness. The solution here, I think, would be to seek professional counseling. A sign of fitness might be respect. The kind of respect we show our young children, for example, even though, as adults, we are the fittest.<\/p>\n
The \u201cisms\u201d simply cannot be seen as the survival tactic because they appear to destroy our selves, our sanity. Sanity cannot survive in a battle against itself. Therefore, there can be no talk of being the fittest, nor of the survival. For example, the claim of \u201dwhite\u201d superiority is not the survival of the fittest. Superiority claims presume inferiority on the part of the claimants, or else they wouldn\u2019t try to claim what they already had. People just feel empowered when they discriminate against other people, which smells of weakness if not of mental illness, and it is unquestionably evil.<\/p>\n
How about the haves and have-nots? That’s a clear example of the survival of the fittest. Is it unfair? Is it evil? Should we “clip everybody\u2019s wings” to the same size? Maybe, eliminate the free market and all other forms of wealth-building making everybody equal in every way. Perhaps, rid ourselves of our selves to conform to a common standard. I would then propose a single favorite color for all – gray (spelled with an a).<\/p>\n
The \u201cfair\u201d people have tried to get rid of unfairness in the past by murdering up to twenty million other people by some accounts. It didn\u2019t work. The \u201cfair\u201d people are, surely, studying how many more they would need to get rid of in order to reach their “fair” objective.<\/p>\n
The haves sometimes \u201cprune\u201d the have-nots and vice versa.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t blame the haves for the ills of the have-nots because I am not deserving of same, myself being more of a have than someone else. More importantly, I don\u2019t view people as being expendable, which prevents inhumane urges. That\u2019s a fair start.<\/p>\n
Free enterprise makes for the fairest living even if it isn\u2019t much to most. Prior to the rise of capitalism, things have been much worse. We haven\u2019t come up with anything better, yet. That\u2019s the long and short of it.<\/p>\n
Fairness is fleeting.<\/p>\n
Capitalism isn\u2019t fair. Communism isn\u2019t fair. Socialism isn\u2019t fair. Democracy isn\u2019t fair. What\u2019s fair?<\/p>\n
Are we even fair ourselves? Nope.<\/p>\n
Will we ever be fair? Not likely. Not so that everybody will think it\u2019s fair.<\/p>\n
Do we keep trying? Sure.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s just one thing. It\u2019s worth fighting for fairness and survival under the sun so long as we only blame ourselves for living in darkness.<\/p>\n