And When We're All Super
Whooo! What a wild couple of weeks it's been. Quite a bit has been going down: taking down the Confederate flag, Marriage Equality, Racism in America, cleaning your room while your parents yell at you about something or another, the fact that "IT'S TOO HOT!!!", and, Donald Trump is still alive?!?!? Wow! Ok, all joking aside, the main thing that has seemed to tie a lot of major happenings recently is the issue of equality. Equality matters; it matters greatly. However, I am starting to see some things that have always alarmed me about the issue of equality. Well, it's one issue really. Equality being reduced to a small dream.
And allow me to explain. Yes, it does have to do with the title of this entry, so before I get into it: SPOILER ALERT. SPOILER ALERT. SPOILER ALERT. SPOILER ALERT.
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!
Okay, so why the title? Because I don't want equality to be reduced to a tiny dream. More often than not, I've seen every mention of equality boil down to this: we deserve, we should have, gimme, gimme, gimme, because others have it, and we don't. And I'm not saying that's where the equality movement is, but I can see where it could possibly get to that point, and to me that's not equality, that's keeping up with the Joneses- and that has the potential for transforming equality into a small dream. Equality shouldn't be measured by what we have and don't have vs. what others have and don't have. My definition of what equality is goes a little like so. Equal representation, which leads to equal chances of success, or equal chances of failure. Equality shouldn't be a net that throws us up to the standard of who we consider has it the best. Because, if that's the case, there's always going to be something, and we're never going to be satisfied. And I hope this isn't all there is to equality.
"When everyone's super, no one will be" - words to live by. Words I don't like, but words to live by. In the movie, The Incredibles, the main villain, Syndrome, shares this quote with his long time idol- turned arch nemesis, Mr. Incredible. He planned to change the world of heroes, by eliminating all the heroes, and making regular people super through his technological advances. The one thing that ruined his plan? It wasn't powers that made the superheroes stand above the rest, it was what the "supers" had inside of them the whole time: heart, courage, helping others instead of looking out for number one, etc. No amount of technology given out to people by Syndrome was going to suddenly make them "super". A lesson he learned well. Throughout my life I've learned this lesson in varying statges. There's always someone better than you. Someone who works harder, is smarter, faster, stronger, louder, quieter, bigger, more innovative, more creative - you name it; someone is it. And I don't think equality should be used as a measure to drag the person who is, for example, faster than everyone down to the level of those that are not that person's level. And vice versa. The people who are slower shouldn't just be elevated to the level of the fastest runner because "it's unfair". Things need to be super, for that is a spice of life! And things need to fail, because let's face it, not everything is a great idea either.
And yet, I'm afflicted. Because it seems like there are those who are always winning the race, and everyone else has to live in that shadow. I don't like it, and I don't always like that things are unfair, but I do appreciate when things are unfair- for one reason. It makes the struggle worth it. So when I see equality, I feel it should be the measure that makes an effort worth it, not neccessarily a measurement of how fair we can make everything, because I can assure you nothing is ever going to be completely fair. So in short, equality to me is everyone should have exactly what they offer. And that intangible currency, the human endeavor, should always be expanding. I think that's the wonderful thing that should come out of equality, rather than us focusing on what we can see, i.e., others have this thing that we don't, let's change it in the name of equality. Equality should be striving to make people realize they are super and have as much worth as the next person, WITHOUT making everything else less super.
And here's where the kicker comes in. What I mean by this is yes, absolutely, again- just an example, there should be equal pay for equal work. But at the same time, having the same title as someone doesn't mean you're doing the same work. WHAT? Yes, I'll refer to the above paragraph. If someone has the same title as you, yet they're bringing all the ideas, doing all the heavy lifting (not neccessarily talking about physically lifting something), completing more tasks than you- fill in the blanks. When that person's paycheck is presented and it's more than yours, that shouldn't be a cause for outrage. Now I'm not saying this how all these scenarios play out, so don't give me that, I'm just giving some food for thought. We all know the unfair, outrage inspiring side of things, but I'm talking about looking past that; a complete and unbiased self assessment on our part. Do we really work as hard as we think we do? Could we work harder than we do, overcome our limits, beat our records, etc.? If the answer is yes, then we shouldn't be looking to equality to make things so that we don't have to deal with these struggles. I mean, I hate struggling as much as the next person, but, again, that human endeavor should inspire us to push through, and be better for it. Without struggle, breakthrough is meaningless.
So no matter where we fall in regards to the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality (yes, I know, everyone's talking about it), and I've heard many, many, many sides, that last point about breakthrough comes in. Even if you're against the ruling, you can't deny that it has been a pivotal moment in history. I consider it a breakthrough. There was a wall, and that wall got got broken through. So I do have to have to say congratulations to the efforts of the LGBT community. You don't have to like the ruling; be compassionate. If you sided with the ruling, still, be compassionate to those who don't. There is still much to do, but the theme should stand, love wins. Furthermore, just like Syndrome in the movie The Incredibles, who learned that just because people can't always bring you with them, or just go with everything ( like the heroes he tried to emulate, and later tried to kill because they couldn't let a 10 year old kid fight off monsters and super powered villians- with good reason, I might add), the attitude of equality shouldn't be "I've been denied for so long, so now it's time to deny everyone who denied me, and then destroy everything they are". And here's where the gist of this blog entry lies. If we are to say to love wins, let's act like it. Let's stop throwing gasoline on the fire, fighting fire with fire, whatever we want to call it. We can't go around saying love, love, love, and then at the next corner turn that into "screw you, screw your family, and everything affiliated with you". Stop hating the people we give titles, such as bigots, the politicians, the racists, the wealthy, the impoverished, celebrities, the sexists, the criminals, the everyman, the Muppets...wait. But seriously, who can recall a time when you changed someone for the better by completely trying to shatter their lives? I'll wait. No matter the reason you point fingers at anybody, we should realize by now that hating people, or hating people back, being negative, putting down others, - FOR ANY REASON, is not ever going to make anything better.
If we hated it being to done this side, then don't do it back to that side. Lets start treating people EQUALLY. Let that be the revolution. It amazes me how foreign this can seem sometimes, for everyone. If love wins, let love win already. When a sports team wins its championship, the operation doesn't shut down with the record skipping track in the background, while the annoucers explain that the team has to go through its whole season again and win the championship all over- just because someone says "I still don't like the Patriots!" (Maybe this would happen if it was the Colts- you know, chosen team of prophecy and whatnot). Be the better example, show people the better way. Stop acting like you get you get to manage who gets got, and like fighting everybody is going to bring about this enlightenment. Because if that's the route we're trying to go, we all should watch our backs, or never mess up again (which is impossible, and, I mean IMPOSSIBLE!) Be merciful to others, even if they don't deserve it, and one day, when you are in need of some mercy, my brotha (or indeed sista), you will find it- and possibly from the place you least expect it.
Why so serious, bro?
Again, like I usually say, I don't expect people to go "Oh, this changed my life fo eva, I do declare! I say, I say.", but food for thought is needed. let's not turn equality into a small dream because we can't learn to let things go, or to treat people better than they deserve. Or because we don't like so and so, or it's too hard to lift this brother/sister up, or because the issue isn't blowing up on social media and it's not going to get you likes or pokes (does anyone even use pokes anymore?) Progress isn't made when we keep going backwards to fight off anyone and everyone who differs from what we think, or how we act, or what we say and do.
In that regard, I view equality in the same way as diversity ( which will probably be another discussion for another time). Diversity isn't "look at how many different looking people we have in one room. We need a selfie!", and then it becomes some hashtag that loses its meaning because it just gets thrown around with no thought. And equality should be the same, regardless of how popular or unpopular an issue is, a "side" is ( I do want to blog about that too), certain people are, or even how popular or unpopular certain opinions are. If we're not going to give everyone, and I mean EVERYONE the same value ( doesn't mean you have to agree with them, like them, join them, etc.) and concern as the those we like, agree with, join in with; that's equality as a small dream. At least in my book.
I leave you all with last thing. Yeah, yeah, I'm a nerd- deal with it. A lesson taught by Dragonball Z.
Vegeta was a terrible monster, and a threat to the entire planet, but even Goku (the main protagonist, with the weird hair- not the guy in the blue suit) understood that killing him, or showing him how they could be just like him and stoop to his level, and be cruel, sadistic, bloodthirsty, etc., wasn't going to bring about change. Goku lets him live to prove that compassion is the better way- and although he didn't know it at the time, Vegeta would later become one of Earth's mightiest heroes.
Meet Frieza! Is this what you want kissing your babies, making television appearences, and ruling the world? I didn't think so. And yes, I could have used a better picture, but, semantics.
Because Goku didn't kill Vegeta, Frieza (a bigger threat, a galactic tyrant, and Vegeta's boss) didn't come down and personally destroy the Earth himself. Because Goku was compassionate, Vegeta saves Goku's son, Goku's friends, and even Goku himself quite a few times. Because Goku chose to be better, Vegeta himself became better, and the earth became a safer place for these fictional characters (Did I mention Vegeta's son travels through time and saves the past, and future like a pimp? Wouldn't have happened if Goku was acting like we often do). And I did say SPOILER ALERT about a hundred times (minus around 90 times). And while this is fictional, I see this type of stuff happening all the time when people are comapssionate (maybe not all the sci-fi stuff, but the humanity of it all). More times than not, at least in my experience, when people chose compassion, even when they've been wronged, nay, especially when they've been wronged, things tend to end much better for everybody- blessings in disguise.
So funny business aside, there is a lesson to be learned from this. Compassion is always going to be the big winner- in so many ways; in so many ways. We have to let equality be the big picture, meaning it's got to be for everyone; and that has a better chance of happening if we love, and love deeply- regardless of where we stand. May we all learn to take the higher road, and be compassionate, and hopefully that has better chance of changing peoples' hearts than roasting everyone we think is less than. To put a positive twist on Syndrome's quote, "When everyone's super, everyone can achieve more." Yeah, yeah, it's cheesy, but it works!
Make good decisions, love one another!
