“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…”
Such truth is self-evident: all men and women were created equal. We have equal value, equal worth, and are equally loved by our Creator. We were endowed with equal, unalienable rights.
But we have unequal…
… gifts…
… talents…
… natural bents and abilities.
Unequal strengths…
… weaknesses…
… places where we succeed and fail.
Unequal challenges…
… temptations…
… circumstances and events.
Unequal ambitions…
… work ethics…
… passions and drives.
“Equal,” my friends, does not mean the same. It seems there exists a growing bubble yet to be burst that we are each — all — somehow the same. We are not.
Like the school districts who can no longer give grades — or can no longer give “tests” or “assess” or offer any difference in grades… I think of Jackson County Schools in North Carolina, where earlier this school year they implemented a grading policy in which teachers can no longer give students anything below 55% regardless of whether an assignment is even completed.
In Grand Rapids, Mich., high school students no longer receive “F”s but instead earn the letter “H.” The “H” stands for “held,” meaning their results are being “held” until their work is up to expected par.
Can we no longer honestly speak of inequality in ethic or effort? Some of us will never be “up to expected par.” And here’s a newsflash, friends: each of us will not be “up to expected par” in something… be it algebra, golf games, comprehension of Puritan literature, or understanding the nuances embedded within political rhetoric.
We are unequal people. That is not said with any judgment nor criticism; it is also not stated with an omission of compassion. It is simply an acknowledgement of reality. When we cannot acknowledge reality, such seems foolish indeed.
This past weekend, rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were played across the country. With hopes high and dreams even higher, several teams unexpectedly found themselves ousted in the single-elimination tournament. The #1 seeded Wichita St. Shockers… the #2 seed, Kansas Jayhawks… the 3rd seeded Orange from Syracuse and Duke Blue Devils… each found themselves making an early exit.
They also learned the often painful but authentic lesson that not all people are created “equal.” They are certainly not the same.
Respectfully,
AR