Equality — What Does It Mean?

Strangely enough, people have many different meanings and ideas of what equality entails.  Now, I am not talking about “marriage equality”, at least not this time, I am talking about equality in general and how we, as a species, have a long way to go towards realizing this very simple concept.

I truly do believe in the concept that all people are created equally.  No, I will not refer to the quote from the Constitution as that would invalidate the point I am trying to get across here.  But, yes, I do believe that all people are created equal without limitation, clarification or elimination.  However, we are not there yet, not by a long shot and I am not merely referring to LGBT rights or minority rights, I am talking about everything in general.  Sadly, this post will generate some hate towards me, but all I ask of my readers is to take a moment and contemplate what I am saying and determine for yourself whether or not it all makes sense.

It is a sad state of affairs that we need to enact laws in order to ensure equality across the board, that is something I have always felt.  It speaks volumes for us as a species that we need words on paper telling us how to treat one another.  How can we honestly expect to handle any extraterrestrial event when we are not unified on our own world?

By now a lot of you are wondering what I am talking about, I mean after all we have established laws to ensure equality for women, minorities, LGBT, etc.  While this is true, we still live under inequality.  What am I talking about?  Well, let me just highlight some topics of interest here.

• Different standards for men and women in the armed forces.  Now, the job description is for a soldier gender should not matter into it.  If the job description says you must be able to do ABC then whoever applies for and trains for the job should be able to do it without modification based on gender.  This also applies to law enforcement and firefighters as well.
• Why is it all right for a woman to be the stay at home parent but when a couple decides for the father to be the stay at home he becomes a lazy bum?  This is a serious double standard, the father can do just as good of a job with the children and the housework as the mother can.
• Why is it that men as elementary school teachers are frowned upon and it is considered creepy?  It was not that long ago in our nations history when it was considered perverse for women to be teachers.  I understand with the recent events in an LA school it is a concern, however women can be child molesters as well; Hello Pamela Smart!  With the proper background checks this is a non-issue.
• Hate to break it to you, but yes, men can be raped too and not just by other men.  An erect penis does not imply consent any more than a woman having an orgasm during a rape.  Now this also applies to domestic abuse, there are men out there that are the victims of their wives.  The reason we do not hear about it more is our society scoffs at the idea of a man being the victim of a woman so men never report it for fear of humiliation.
• Why is it that men are not allowed to have a say when it comes to abortion?  And please, spare me the “you don’t have a uterus” mantra, it does not fly with me.  It takes a male and a female to make a child, it should be both making the decisions.  Lord knows when it comes to child support whether or not the man wanted the child he has to pay.  Seriously, I am not trying to demean women here, but this should be a mutual decision, not something left up to just one person.  Imagine for a moment ladies if your man decided to have a vasectomy without discussing it with you…

Now, I am not all about the down-trodden male here, there is still plenty of inequality towards women as well and I think that needs to change as well.

• Why can’t women serve in front line combat positions?  There are other countries in this world that allow their women to fight in the military and it only makes sense as it is their nation too that they are defending.
• A clear look at the elected positions in this country shows that the voting people are still not open to the idea of women and minority representatives.  This is a sad state of affairs and needs to be rectified.  Now I am not saying elect them just for the sake of it, I was never a fan of affirmative action, but if they are just as qualified they should get the votes too.
• As with elected positions, the same applies to higher up positions in corporations, police departments, law firms, et al.
• Sports – now there is a big one.  Women’s sports should not be set aside as some side event.  Do I think women should get the chance to play on the same teams as men?  If they can compete, absolutely!  But, I do think the professional leagues need to do more to promote women’s sports than they currently do.

And now my final topic on the issue of equality for all and this one may catch some of you by surprise.  The worst example in the world on creating and allowing inequality comes to us from religion.  Religion, or the church, if you will attempts to keep its followers on a lower level than the “elect”, the enlightened ones.  Women do not get a fair representation in the church, in fact they are told their role is to keep quiet and obey their men.  The church imposes rules on all its follower, demanding they follow the rules of their god, while at the same time not living within those same rules.  Quite frankly religion is a blight on our society as a whole that needs to be removed quickly.  Set aside wars, nuclear, biological or chemical weapons and disease, religion if allowed to continue unchecked as it has been will be what kills off our species.  If the church had its way we would still be living in the Dark Ages, ignoring science and technology, forgoing most medications and vaccines, and living constantly under the rule of the church and the fear of their god.

I am thankful each day that these bold, brave people came forward and brought all these things to us.  As a whole we are healthier, more aware of our world and our universe .  We are able to think independently and freely and live without fear.  At a certain time the church may very well have been needed to maintain order and protect people from the mysteries of the world but that is not true any longer.  The world we currently live in is far from perfect, however that is not likely to change until we can all come together as one with respect and fairness for all.  These are changes that cannot happen over night nor do I expect them to happen in my own lifetime.  Greed and malice are to much a part of our makeup at the current time.  Sadly, I think it will take either the threat of, or the act of, some global event to push us in the direction of unity and I truly do hope for our species that it will not be to late.

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