18 April 2006

The concept of fairness (or lack thereof)

Due in great part to my upbringing and to my perspective of life, I very much value the concept of fairness, be it related to politics, gender, pay, treatment, or any other thing really. The reason is that I am a strong believer in balance and equilibrium, and I do feel that one who leads a moderate life (overall, you can't be moderate on everything... you'll stop having opinions, and stop being interesting in my eyes) will have a healthy lifestyle.

You can't eat cake everyday and keep your figure, just as you can't occupy a country of years and not expect retaliation and regular explosions. Of course, the real question is "what is fairness?". Defining such a term is very difficult, and shall bring forth lots of discussion, but let's give it a shot. Fairness implies impartiality, and lack of prejudice or favoritism. It means that you will not think of your own interest, and that you will do your best to be objective and do things the way they need to be.

So why am I writing about fairness? Because I have been noticing less and less of it every day. Egocentrism and self-importance are taking over, and most people think that they are the wheel on which everything is turning. Not only is it at the individual level, but also at group levels. There are many many examples of the groups : a particular religious group that will be prejudiced and try to eliminate another group due to ignorance (Inquisition anyone?), or a government that will force its rule on another (colonisation in all its forms)...

Perhaps if we, at the individual level, make an effort, albeit minimal, we might try to make a dent somewhere that will have its repercussions.

This is not utopia.
This is not paradise.
This is a possibility that requires of us to make a sacrifice.
This is a reality to requires us to speak up when we notice such unfairness.
This is a duty that we all have to ameliorate our selves.

Because in the end, that is all that we have.

6 comments:

running42k said...

Amen. One of the best posts I have seen in a long time from anyone. This should be required reading for everyone.

Sleeplessjojo said...

many thanks running42k for your comment :) It is very kind.

EviL DraKo said...

Excellante reflexion, est ce du à tes sleepless moments ?

A. said...

These are words of wisdom my dear...

I see the link between the "akhta rassi ou odhrob" post and this one...

anyways... wish you good luck in this unfair world

A.

Mathieu said...

May these words be heard, shared and lived.

Heliodore said...

"La fontaine" said : Stronger law is always the better (La loi du plus fort est toujours la meilleure)!