Random Rambles: Equality

Equality. This word signifies something we've been fighting for since the beginning of human civilization. We all know what equality means, or do we? Equality has such a profound cultural and social impact on today's society yet we seem to define equality differently. Equality is something that will never be obtained or understand completely. Equality is something generations and generations have fought for but society rarely ever turns out the way we want it to. We never know what equality means and I think deep down we're scared what it could represent. There have been numerous attempts at equality with socialism and communism but they never were that...well, equal. So why is equality so hard to get? Aren't we all humans in the end?

The definition of equality is the state of being equal especially in rights, status, and opportunity. This seems like a simple state to have in communities but on the global level it proves to be impossible. There is a huge difference between males and sexes, races, sexualities, religions, and other trivial matters. We don't always see eye to eye and sometimes that pushes us to clash against one another. Therin lies a problem since everyone has their own concepts of equality and beneficial actions for the human race.

Every single human on earth is equal to each other and yet our distinctions manage to hamper true equality. Every attempt to actually establish complete equality has failed and what we see throughout history is that true equality will never exist. The unfortunate fact is that humans aren't quite ready to actually create a society that regards every single individual as an equal. We've struggled so long on multiple issues over equality yet more and more questions are posed the more we delve into this problem. We aren't always sure if equality is good in the end but we keep striving for global equality. We claim to want a equal state of mind and that we also want people to have a better social standing. But we all have our biases that tint our minds which makes it all the harder to make sure our opinions and our actions reflect our belief in equality. However, the bias that exists from the moment you meet an individual is extremely influential in treating that person and the bias may be reflected on your attitude. Furthermore, there are many aspects associated with equality and bias which means that keeping our state of mind free of any opinion about a person impossible. Humans are built around judging people and the idea of eradicating bias is ludicrous.

So why even try to have an equal society in the first place? I think modern countries today face the dilemma of "choosing" which equality they want. In essence, we interpret equality in such a way that it seems almost attainable or we qualify equality to fulfill equality to the best possible degree. That means we are settling for a watered-down version of equality in hopes that we can accomplish even that. But even this version of equality cannot be achieved which can be seen as we struggle to get rid of inequalities that form within our society that target specific groups. The equality has different forms for each nation that focuses on the problem which means that we are all following different standards and that means each nation isn't equal to each other. Equality is a state we must strive for even if we will never obtain it. We should fulfill its conditions in such a way that it coincides with our values. Of course, many will argue that trying to go for a "version" of equality cannot actually count as equality but following that interpretation is unfortunately the best we can do. We also don't want to actually strive for true equality due to how problematic that ends up as socialism is a key example of the idea of equality being too cathartic yet sinister. There are many ideologies based on equality and the varying levels it should be implemented into society yet no specific ideology actually seems to be more beneficial over another. We've seen all types of governments fail before and we've seen all types of society fall as well. So where does that leave us? Hoping to create a new, equal society that will last a long time? The idea of creating a long-lasting, equal society is incredibly naive. Society to me is only a compromise that represents the community that is "generally" accepted by those living within society's confines. Having us all agree on one type of equality won't work and society is always unruly because there are those who believe the society doesn't work for them.

The point I'm trying to get at is that equality is a fickle thing in the end. Equality rests on chance as much as it rests on human control. We can't guarantee that our view of equality will be the same several years into the future. What matters in the end is that equality depends on time, beliefs, and other factors which means every single society in its place in time will find that different versions of equality work for them. Some prefer to be create a racist, totalitarian state while other prefer to create a liberal state. The leader(s) of the society will have to decide what equality will have to do and whether equality itself will have to be eradicated. And of course, many people in that society will wish differently but sometimes it isn't in their power to change society enough. Equality is a variable, abstract idea which means that equality changes a lot. In the end, equality is only a concept and our rallying cry under its flag may prove to be fruitful or fruitless.