Created Equal?

Most white-lighters believe in the concepts of All Being Created Equal and Equal Rights. It’s worth examining whether either concept really holds up. It’s also worth realising that the word “creation” normally implies “God” as the creator – particularly amongst those who so frequently use the phraseology.

Let’s deal with creation first: Creation refers to the moment when your father and mother conceived you – nothing else. Your creation may have been well planned or it may have taken a few drinks. Whichever it was, you were created by the simple expedient of egg fertilisation by two human beings. Congratulations. Now lose all thoughts of God having a hand in this. Remember this can happen any time you want it to, ignoring of course physical disability. All you need is the inclination, a partner of the opposite sex and loose underpants (keep ‘em cool boys – keep ‘em cool). Prayer plays no part. If you think it does then you are deluding yourself.

Then lets look at the equal part: critics would hold that everyone has the same potential at birth. But if a child is born with a mental or severe physical disability, then in what sense is he equal, and to whom is he equal? Einstein? Phelps? I mean no predudice against the disabled, but not only is the child not physically or mentally equal to ANYONE able bodied, but the child often lacks the same potential as the physically or mentally able. Hard to read possibly, but is it arguable?  Stephen Hawkin can be held up as an example of someone who beat the odds and became successful in his chosen field. I can still outrun him. In what sense is he my equal, and by definition, in what sense am I his?

Granted, someone born into a poor household may have the  same potential as someone born into a rich houshold, but the number of success stories relating to the poor attaining high levels of achievement, bearing in mind that they are in the vast majority, is negligable in the statistical sense. Nevertheless it’s pointless to claim equality for all humans when life itself is geared to present so many possibilities. The rich boy will have the support through schooling, the contacts in later life, the great job, the big house. The deprived child will drop out of school early, possibly through lack of parental support, get a dead end job and live in subsidised housing or rental accommodation. Now these are huge generalisations, but again, what is the point in creating equality and then making life so infinitely difficult for some and so effortless for others? The whole sense of equality is an impossibility, and if equality were a reality then stratification could not exist.

With regard to Equal Rights then what are we talking about here – I suppose we must generally all agree that everyone has a right to life, but what else? The right to privacy? But what if you use your privacy to abuse children? The right to free speech? But again, what if your free speech causes offence to minorities. Now personally I’m not in favour of censorship, but then again I don’t support any of this equality argument. Any alleged freedom or equal right can and will be removed at some time, whether by the authorities or society at large. so once again the concept of equal rights applies to no one. Even the right to procreate is removed by the authorities in cases of severe mental disability.

So even if the “Being created equal” argument were to hold water, which it doesn’t when you take the disability argument alone, then the equal rights argument doesn’t, bearing in mind every right held by Man can be and has been removed at some time.

We are unequal, and our inequality gives depth to our human existence. Leaders were born to lead, followers to follow. Thus is the true way of the world.