Equality ≠ Equal

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." and so begins the second sentence in the United States Declaration of Independence. Equality is one of the basic tenets of our society, but what exactly does being equal mean?

There are people who are born without limbs. Are they equal in the ability to move and carry objects as those who are born with limbs? Were they "created equal" as the Declaration of Independence states? If we say that an inequality does exist for those born without limbs do we cry, "foul ... unfair ... cruel universe"? Should we then level the playing field so to speak and force everyone to be equal? What would that look like? Would we tie back limbs or surgically remove them? Who would perform the surgery if no one had limbs? People are also born with different levels of intelligence, some even with what we call mental disabilities. Should everyone then undergo frontal lobotomies or other brain surgeries to make us all equal? Who would be left to intelligently perform brain surgery?

These scenarios sound ridiculous, don't they? So why doesn't all forced equality sound just as ridiculous?

I have a sister who did not enjoy school and did not do well at it. Our father was a school teacher so one would expect him to have a high educational standard for his children, and he did. He expected me to get straight A's. Yet he did not expect that of my sister and would be elated if she came home with straight C's. Was he unfair? No, he treated us equally. How is that possible? By having different (unequal) standards for each of us based on our individuality he treated us equally by encouraging us equally to be at our best. Equality means understanding and accepting differences and not forcing sameness. Being "created equal" to me means all human beings are of equal value. We are all different but we all have the same worth, which is priceless.

This year the world has experienced the scare of the "swine" or H1N1 flu virus. Mexico seems to have been the hardest hit, but it has affected people from divers nations with diverse ethnic backgrounds. We know scientifically that some diseases seem to be more prevalent for certain races than for others. For the sake of argument let's say there was a new virus that only affected Latinos. If we developed a vaccine for the disease would we distribute it based on race or would we be "equal" and make sure all races received equal amounts? In this case, by "favoring" that one race--only giving it to them--we would be treating all races equally: those who need it get it, those who don't need it don't get it.

In the late 70's and early 80's there was a huge push to pass the Equal Rights Amendment ("ERA"). [Note: It has been reintroduced in every Congress since 1982.] For those not familiar with the ERA, it basically mandates that the law turn a blind eye to gender, or in other words, the law would not recognize that there is any difference between men and women. The big problem is that there are differences. (Any scientist could confirm that for you in case you're in doubt.)

So why would I write about equality this week? Because this week the California Supreme Court ruling upheld the voters' passage of Proposition 8. Opponents immediately cried foul stating that California is not treating people equally. But haven't we established that in order to treat people equally they must be treated differently because they are different? By definition homosexuals claim that there are differences between men and women because they prefer one over the other. Men and women are different. Heterosexuals and homosexuals are different. So let's not force equality by fooling ourselves into saying everything is the same. It's not. Marriage should not be forced to undergo a frontal lobotomy to make it "equal".