Saturday, September 3, 2016

Too many do not see the big picture of equality and equity (#2773)

     If this election season has taught me one thing it is that too many folks out there do not see the big picture of how our society operates and what democracy means. It is as if they filter everything through their own wants and prejudices without considering to sacrifice. Sacrifice is bigger than ourselves. It is the ability to act on our care for others. It truly is what democracy is all about. Not just all of us enjoying equality but also equity, http://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/. The common decency of being a civilized human is under attack by those who selfishly claim that they deserve and others don't.
     Their problem is that they cannot accept progress despite the alternative of not only no progress but of actual regression. It is baffling to me that one or two steps forward is not to be allowed but going backwards is. I know that making great leaps forward is preferable to many including me but when that is not possible then we take the next best opportunity. Why is that so hard to understand? Is disappointment so hard and unfathomable that we cannot accept anything less when it is the only option? Soon none of this will matter to me since I am getting older and have less time to live in the choices we make. Yet I have a duty to reality to make it better in any way I can while I am alive so doing less when we are able to do more is not an option for me.
     The big picture is progress. Whether great or small keeping the act of progressing forward is the purpose. Not allowing for forces to overtake our efforts because we are not in harmony with this simple understanding. No amount of punishing ourselves for not doing better is worth the pain of going backwards and harming many in the process. Always the calculation. The zero sum game is more real than hypothetical. We must always advance regardless of how big the step is and never lose sight of that. I always hope to make great strides but making any stride is still victory.

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