Life Is Not Equal

Observations on inequality when too many try to force equality.

Somewhere, somehow, someone got the idea that all is equal ... or that it should be. It is not. Life is not equal. Academia and theorists all espouse concepts and constructs, models and metaphors that life should be equal and all within it should be equal, too. That is a comfy notion constructed by professors and theorists sitting in comfy chairs with comfy air conditioned offices. It is not, however, how life on this planet works. Life is not equal.

If life were equal, then all of my brothers and I would be of the same height and weight, have the same intellectual acumen and education, have the same work ethic, have the same work, and have the same ... well, pretty much everything else. That did not happen. As it turns out, life is not equal. My older brother went into construction contracting. I joined the Navy and had three other careers after that. My younger brother is quite skilled at music and had an innate affinity to play whatever he touched. My youngest brother was physically the largest of the boys. He probably could have played professional football, except he rather help people and became a nurse then later a teacher. Not exactly equal was that?

Life just is not equal.

Take human males and human females, for instance. Physiologically compatible, yet you could not get more "not equal". Most human males are analytical, goal or purpose driven. This has been referred to as "tunnel vision". If it is not within the scope of the tunnel, it is not even considered. Most human females can see multiple events occurring at the same time. This has been referred to as "multi-tasking." This is a thing most males cannot do or do well. Socially, most males do not talk a lot; unless it is within the scope of the tunnel, then they can talk incessantly. This has been referred to by females as "droning." Socially, most females do talk a lot; unless the male has not done something or forgot something the female thinks is very important. Pointed talking by the female toward the male's errors has been referred to as "nagging" by the male, "communicating" by the female.

Life is not equal.

I am sure that the first conversations between humans may have attempted to move along equality and fair sharing. According to the Judeo-Christian Bible, this did not end well for Abel. In later societies, the hunters found it easier to take from the gathers rather than gather for themselves. Life is not equal.

In the last century, the 20th such using the Gregorian calendar which marks time as Anno Domini, AD,  or Before Christ, BC... side point: CE and BCE are misnomers. Why? Because the common era is still measured from the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christian Messiah. If they are going to change it to laud the era of Man, they should change it to HE for Human Era (would not be liked by the feminists) or EM for Era of Man (again, would not be liked by the feminists).

Okay, back to point: The 20th century, the one just finished, was a really good example of why life is not equal. The European mastery of industrial technologies and the constant agitation of exchange of hostilities over local borders gobbled up all of the lesser states in Europe into enclaves of treaty organizations or just out right hegemonies under a single dictator or parliament. Okay, some of these dictators were called king, queen, prince, or imperial something, but dictators in actuality or in name only. Life seemed a bit more equal for the larger and wealthier nation states than it did for the smaller, less populated, less industrial states. With Europe gobbled up to a stalemate, that left the rest of the globe, and since the rest of the globe did not have the industrial where-with-all of Europe, the rest of the globe fell victim to colonization. Life was not equal to those without cannonade and a well trained army.

Prussia leading the German hegemony along with the Austro-Hungarian empire lose a war of attrition against marginally better generals backed by a superior supply train. Was it fair that the "Central Powers" nations did not have access to the same resources as the "Allied" nations? Life is not equal. The Franco-American-British bucket was deeper and the other side lost.

The inequality of the victory was most notable in the Treaty of Versailles, where the losing side lost more to the greed of the victors. The punishment was unequal to the crime and set the stage for an even bigger inequality.

Life is not equal and the desire for retribution for offenses committed, disregarding the original causes which led to the offenses, grew to significant proportions. Was it fair or equal that the constraints placed on the German states created the environment that raised up such hatred that a mostly Christian nation forsook those teachings to become an exporter of Nazi aggression? Twenty years of built up hatred pored out on the European people and some 50 million Europeans and Asians paid for it with their lives. Where was the equality in that?

Life is not equal.

It is interesting to note that the so-called "Humanists" that came out of the best European and American schools of theology and medicine were the main proponents for euthanasia, racial cleansing, and birth control of "undesirable" people groups or types. The "plan" behind Planned Parenthood was the removal of "undesirable" strains of humanity. The "plan" for blond haired, blue eyed Aryans in Europe included the sterilization of all of those who were not: a not too oft mentioned portion of Scandinavian and Teutonic history. It was not fair or kind, but those with the guns and the ability to ruin lives were making all of the rules ... until they lost World War II.

Life is not equal.

Was it fair or kind that the only large nations not truly impacted locally by World War II were Argentina, Brasil, and the USA? Probably not, but in this instance it worked to the advantage of the only industrialized nation with deep buckets of resources: the United States of America. Was it fair to the rest of the planet that 75% of all of the post-WWII economy was driven through the United States of America? Probably not. The world should thank and pay homage to the man with the plan to turn around a planet: George Marshall, General of the USA and Secretary of State post-war. Forty years later, the Marshall Plan worked; however, the memory of why there was a plan had faded. 

Some in the USA probably think that it is quite unfair and unequal to their checkbooks that the USA only has 20% of the planet's market. 300 million people drive 1/5th of the economy of 7 billion persons. 

Life is not equal.

Life is not equal. If it was, the United Soviet Socialist Republic would have succeeded. But, the Russians, Georgians, Cossacks, and all those people in the various "stans" discovered they were only equal in misery while their leadership enjoyed dachas on the Crimean. Life was very equal to the Politburo; not so much for the "serf". The same is noted of the PRC; however, they are morphing into something new to cope with a global economy they can almost reach but remains just out of grasp.

Communism, or the theory that all people can have all things in common, has failed everywhere that it has been tried. Life is not equal. People cannot have all things equally and in common.

Socialism is Communism in dictator's clothing.

Socialism espouses the ruse that all is equal and all is in common good; except for the very wealthy and the very powerful. Once again, the "serf" suffers. Giving "bread and circuses" only appeases for a little while, then they will want more for less effort. Socialism is a degenerative psychosis that evolves into purest atrophy. Soon the Louies are running for cover from the Robespierres, hoping to keep their heads. Little do the Robespierres realize, they have a place on the block, too.

Life is not equal.

If life was equal, all of our best efforts would result in a tie with our competitors.

If life was equal, everyone would gain the most from every lesson, excel at every test, and there would be no one standing out from all the rest, because all would be equal.

Life is not equal.

Try as they may, two men cannot copulate one another into a pregnancy. The same goes for women. The required elements are not equal. Another example of life being not equal. There is a requirement of inequalities of gender that must be met to propagate the specie. It is a design element of the specie.

Life is not equal. 

Some are more comely. Some are taller. Some are shorter. Some are heavier. Some are lighter. Some are darker. Some are lighter. Some can process information very quickly. Some cannot. Some can lead. Some cannot. Some do not want to lead. Some do but cannot. Some have blue eyes. Some have brown. Some have eyes but they do not work. Some have no eyes at all. Some get cancer. Some do the same things and do not.

Life is not equal.

The machinations of Man to make all things equal is a recipe for failure. There is but one sure commonality for Man: all humans die. With the exception of a couple of Biblical notables, all humans have died at least once. There is our one equality: death.

There is one other item, and that is not so much an equality as an opportunity. Those who are blessed to have been born into a free country, where freedom is cherished and promoted, have the opportunity to be "not equal" and excel. The other option is to get to a country where that lifestyle is possible. It is not possible in all countries. Some countries, most actually, it is the ability to wield power successfully that will make you "not equal" and without peer. In some countries, people are hunted and preyed upon by those with swords or bullets. There is no freedom there. Those who live by the sword or bullet eventually die by the sword or bullet. It is not "if" but "when".

Equal in opportunity only occurs in nations whose constitutions and laws protect, defend, and promote "equality in opportunity" rather than "equality for all." The Bible says a lazy man can be so lazy he will not even lift a hand to pluck a grape from a bowl. There will be those that want "equality for all" at the expense of those seeking "equality in opportunity".

One must come to the realization that "life is not equal" and since it is not, one must be diligent to work exceedingly to be the best at the chosen endeavor.

I am glad life is not equal for this reason: I could not be happy in a world where everything was the same and there was no chance at excellence, no chance to succeed, no chance to be unequal.

The unequal rise to the challenge. Some succeed, some fail, all stepped forward for the "not equal" opportunity.

Think on that.

Author's Note

Your feedback and commentary are appreciated.