I find it very relevant to post something about Equality and the ideologies surrounding it in the mainstream. Most of my desire to talk about this is because of my own life experiences with the state of Equality and also the nature in which people are getting really heated, in America, about the Marriage Equality hearings going on in the Supreme Court.
I'd like to point out that I am not making a call to stand in a certain direction, I'd rather be respectful to all sides since I think there are very reasonable people when you get past all the rhetoric and fanatics.
Being of mixed ethnicity, I have to deal with the outward expression of what I am involuntarily. This outward expression isn't acceptable to all people, be it that I am of mixed ethnicity or be it that I am mixed with a certain ethnic background. Since my earlier childhood memories, I have been recognized for what I really am and treated in a host of different ways because of individual perception of what I should be defined as. To my own horror, as a kid, the people who fight most for equality are usually the ones least tolerant.
I don't say this lightly.. I think Martin Luther King was a great advocate of peaceful demonstrations and to share in a worldly vision of mankind being peaceful with each other regardless of what they look like. However, I hate that people turn Martin Luther King's dream into a message of African American Empowerment, MLK wasn't advocating for one side regardless of what people believe his 'fight' to be about. The same goes for many other Equal rights activists who share in a dream where people are treated like people and the only differences that deserve discrimination are actions.
I don't see the logic in treating the great leaders of Equality as voices for one demographic, it defeats the purpose of what they were aiming to do.
There are a few other things about me that have undergone the discrimination that society is calling out against. I don't find these other things to be as important in my life since I can hide them from public view. However, I can't say that I find the struggle itself to be relevant to my goals since I don't rely on my private affairs being public like some people do. That may make it seem like I don't care about the struggle itself, but that is not accurate. I simply don't agree with what everyone is saying because some things don't need to be public affairs. When it comes to equal marriage, I think that is a legitimate struggle because it's depraved to force people to live in secrecy when it isn't harming anyone (be it themselves only if that truly is the case. Take all the oddball sexual kinks out there, I don't need to fight it for public approval even though I'm not going to support public ridicule).
I try to adhere to the principle that the fight for equality means relinquishing polemic arguments or slandering information about people. This is for the same reason that MLK made his whole action plan around, because I think there are a few great leaders of history that have shown the importance of your mentality in your struggle. For instance, anyone can agree that it is a contradiction to fight intolerance with intolerance. Just as it is a contradiction to kill a mother who had an abortion for the reason that she had supposedly 'murdered' an innocent person.
Adding fuel to the fire is the method that most people would like to adhere to. It is a clear sign of people who hide their destructive behavior under the guise of prosperity and compassion. The reality is that they are compassionate towards their toys and want prosperity for all toys. That is maniacal and tyrannical.
My basis for equality is in the same category as the 3 Points to the Foundation.
Love, Leadership, & Strength.
To be blunt.. You can't even get to the foundation if you don't know Love. At that point, Leadership and Strength have no meaning. Without Love, there is no compassion. Without compassion there is no understanding. Without understanding there is no cooperation. Without cooperation there is no growth. Without growth there is no life. And we all know what fills in the gap in the absence of life.
There is another problem though, it has to do with the source of moral integrity. I see this problem come up most with people who misunderstanding the premise of their moral understanding or those who can't identify a universal truth. The odd thing to me is that it correlates with a specific set of problems that make it hard for anyone to believe there is anything such as a universal truth. Irony would have it that these same people argue that morality is subjective yet they strive for a universal truth like equality. Interesting contradiction..
The fact of the matter is that no person is Equal to another person by virtue of human existence defining such through physical attributes and mentality. Aside from the obvious differences brought about by gender, thus making experiences subjective to the core of family (arguably the most important facet of the human experience), there are differences in age and birth order and appearance and intellectual capacity and emotional capacity and work ethic and even genetic disposition to disorders/diseases. The idea of individuality is so stark that equality can't exist if you are a naturalist. You have to adhere to the principle of duality to understand the deeper makeup of the human experience that brings us all together in Equality. It's not a joke.. I am not apologizing for offending anyone considering themselves a naturalist, because I find that ideology flawed and detrimental in these kinds of struggles.
If you can't accept the fact that human sentience is universal, in the aspect that we are simply embodied energy that is self aware and also capable of showing respect despite differences in physical attributes, you are bound to make the mistake of classifying people based on physical attributes instead of actions. This is extremely important to know the difference of because physical attributes are suggestive, they aren't the end result of volition. Just like a father can drop his masculine pride and ignore societal roles by becoming the maternal figure in the family, a short man can play basketball by challenging the notion that the taller you are the better chances you'll have! Even Charles Darwin had to affirm that idea by his mentioning that it isn't strength that determines the survival of a race in the gene pool; the logic is that perception of a strong attribute isn't the same as a true advantage.
Ok, with that rant out of the way.. I'd like to focus on the importance of Equality because it may seem like I'm making more of an argument against it. I'm not playing the Devil's Advocate, laying out the argument as a whole is necessary to be open minded. I don't care much for that pseudo tolerance society teaches.
Despite the obvious differences between any individual, there is that awesome similarity that we could call the seat of our experiences. Which is the conscious being behind all the flesh. I am not stepping into the realm of metaphysics when I say that science has been able to show a clear difference between the energy of the nervous system and the conscious mind. Though science hasn't been able to define what the consciousness is by virtue of substance, it has determined it to be a force that directs the core animated qualities of the body (I say it that way because we don't consciously control the body on every level) and is responsible for the patterns in the nervous system that are expressed throughout the body. The end result is amazing, because it is like the conscious experience is on the surface of the body even though it originates from the deepest aspect.
Because of this endowment of consciousness, each human is able to recognize the consciousness of other humans. It comes intuitively, only in our older years do we pay attention to the mechanisms as well as the profound nature that is sentience. We see it in other life forms and because of this quality of life energy coupled with sentience we are able to find something sacred about the experience of living. It helps that we aren't able to give credit of life to some inanimate object that has no value in the grander scheme of things. Even the naturalist must admit that the Universe is truly an awe inspiring place that deserves to be explored and respected (yeah, there I go again bashing you naturalists. Get over it, you have to understand the implications of your views to those who have experienced what you call the metaphysical).
Once you are able to recognize sacredness in any form, especially that of life, you have to start to consider what it means to withhold this recognition from something that deserves it. In fact, the effect of denying someone who feels they deserve it is much more profound. The reaction may be violent, an ironic event where they haven't denied sacredness in retaliation even though they are bent on a path of destruction because of their own perception of being denied value.
Is this starting to become clear at all?
Equality is a farce on the surface, but Humans experience something much deeper than the surface. Because of the human experience there is a conflict of definition. It is by virtue of being revealed the nature of humans that a true understanding can be reached. This understanding is so important that it breaks the bondage of hate and greed and many other conceivable evils/vices. Yet it begs the bigger question, "What did people do before this aspect of the human experience was revealed with certainty?"
Well.. If you look at history... Most people knew exactly what the truth is, they just preferred an alternate ideology. One that allowed them to control people with the concept of superiority through birthright.
If it wasn't because you're born to the royal class (or whatever superior class that goes down the line), it must be because of the shape of your genitals, the color of your skin, the length of a body part, the sound of your voice, the capacity of a preferred skill, or simply the land you were first seen. Every single thing is pyre for a fire of self destruction. Societies that are built on these concepts fall inevitably and people who subconsciously judge others based on these reasons are bound to create instability and insecurities in their families.
Don't be quick to assume that equality is the way to Utopia. There is a line within equality that can be crossed where moral truth is lost and entitlement becomes absolute.
Giving people the chance to prove their worth is not the way. Everyone has value.. However, giving everyone the chance to make something of that value is a state of equality. That is a precept when dealing with legalism; you prove what injustice was committed before assuming guilt. When it comes to judging people on a daily basis, it is not the judgement which is a vice because it is the twisting of reality to fit a bias that nullifies equalities.
When you tell someone else that they have to accept what people do and that they have to go so far as to support it, you've taken away the right to judge actions. I don't have to be ok with what someone does, even though I feel I have to give that person recognition of their natural value. Those are two very different things and it can be perverted to mean all sorts of rhetorical garbage.
Take away someone's value as a person, you show discrimination that crosses a line of moral truth.
Judge people by their actions while maintaining that they have value, you uphold Integrity and Justice.
What really matters is Integrity and Justice, not comfort and freedom.
Genuine Nobility will serve comfort and freedom to those who uphold Integrity and Justice fairly.
