{"id":3013,"date":"2014-03-24T23:30:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T03:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=3013"},"modified":"2014-03-24T23:41:29","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T03:41:29","slug":"unequal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=3013","title":{"rendered":"unequal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"geow\"<\/a>\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Such truth is self-evident:\u00a0 all men and women were created equal.\u00a0 We have equal value, equal worth, and are equally loved by our Creator.\u00a0 We were endowed with equal, unalienable rights.<\/p>\n

But we have unequal…<\/p>\n

… gifts…<\/p>\n

… talents…<\/p>\n

… natural bents and abilities.<\/p>\n

Unequal strengths…<\/p>\n

… weaknesses…<\/p>\n

… places where we succeed and fail.<\/p>\n

Unequal challenges…<\/p>\n

… temptations…<\/p>\n

… circumstances and events.<\/p>\n

Unequal ambitions…<\/p>\n

… work ethics…<\/p>\n

… passions and drives.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqual,\u201d my friends, does not mean the same.\u00a0 It seems there exists a growing bubble yet to be burst that we are each \u2014 all <\/i>\u2014 somehow the same.\u00a0 We are not.<\/p>\n

Like the school districts who can no longer give grades \u2014 or can no longer give \u201ctests\u201d or \u201cassess\u201d or offer any difference in grades…\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

In Grand Rapids, Mich., high school students no longer receive “F”s but instead earn the letter “H.\u201d\u00a0 The “H” stands for “held,” meaning their results are being \u201cheld\u201d until their work is up to expected par.<\/p>\n

Can we no longer honestly speak of inequality in ethic or effort?\u00a0 Some of us will never be \u201cup to expected par.\u201d\u00a0 And here\u2019s a newsflash, friends:\u00a0 each of us will not be \u201cup to expected par\u201d in something<\/i><\/b>… be it algebra, golf games, comprehension of Puritan literature, or understanding the nuances embedded within political rhetoric.<\/p>\n

We are unequal people.\u00a0 That is not said with any judgment nor criticism; it is also not stated with an omission of compassion.\u00a0 It is simply an acknowledgement of reality.\u00a0 When we cannot acknowledge reality, such seems foolish indeed.<\/p>\n

This past weekend, rounds 1 and 2 of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were played across the country.\u00a0 With hopes high and dreams even higher, several teams unexpectedly found themselves ousted in the single-elimination tournament.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

They also learned the often painful but authentic lesson that not all people are created \u201cequal.\u201d \u00a0They are certainly not the same.<\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…\u201d   Such truth is self-evident:\u00a0 all men and women were created equal.\u00a0 We have equal value, equal worth, and are equally loved by our Creator.\u00a0 We were endowed with equal, unalienable … <\/p>\n

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