Adoro Te Devote had an interesting post on equality. I have posted on that topic as well, but something she said triggered a thought in me. Let me start by saying that I am so inadequate compared to so many men AND women on so many different things. Adoro reminded me of something my dad taught me - at any given task there will always be somebody better than me and somebody worse than me. So why are people hung up on insisting we are all equal? Here is what we are doing. We have in our mind scores on an each ability or attribute. We also have a certain value/importance for that attribute. We have these unspoken scores on lots of attributes, each with it’s on importance weight. Well if I add up all of my scores weighted by the attribute importance I get my “value” as a person. This conception of determining value is exactly what goes on implicitly in society. This implicit equation is wrong from a modern relativist perspective. You will get one of two arguments here. One is that there are no real differences - that all differences are made-up to enhance or repress a particular class. There is not really a denial in the equation. There is wishful thinking that there are no differences - because then we would all be interchangable, the same, equal. You will hear others argue that we can’t place “value” on different attributes. Sure there are differences, but who gets to say what “value” each should have. When it comes to particular task, this is nonsense. I want really strong firefighters to rescue me, and really smart doctors, and very compassionate and experienced nurses (I would be terrible at all three jobs). The implicit equation is also wrong from a Christian perspective. From the Christian perspective the separation comes, not in discussing the value of an individual for a given task our purpose - but in believing that it implies the value of a person. The value of a person is NOT determined by what he or she can do. Value comes in being beloved of God, and it is inherent and infinite. If we can accept that our worth is not tied to what we can or cannot do, but because we are children of God - then we are liberated. Then we can say it is OK that certain people are better suited to different tasks. We no longer need to “prove” our worth. But believing this is not easy, because we keep trying to “prove” ourselves. We have nothing to prove. All we have to do is accept. You are beloved of God. Nothing that you can do will add to or subtract from this.
Tags: equality, God, love, Christianity
