The last time I checked the Black’s Law dictionary, equality was described as “the quality or state of being equal” (Garner, 2004, p. 576). Equality before the law on the other hand, means “the status or condition of being treated fairly according to regularly established norms of justice” p. 577. Well, I think that these definitions are more of textbook definitions than that of human nature. Can we really attain true equality? Would a hate crime bill deter us from hating each other?

Our culture, belief system, religion, socio economic status and upbringing has an impact on the way we treat others. We all seem to have these stereotypes in our head. I mean, don’t we all pretend to be accommodating of each other at one point in time. But, what do we really think of each other when we are sitting at our kitchen tables. What do we talk about when we are in the confines of our homes? What are our innermost thoughts? How many times have we pulled the race card when nobody is watching? Every now and then, we slip and utter a word or two that may land us in trouble. But, until we ‘get caught’ we are the epitome of Equality.

Not to mention names, but isn’t it always embarrassing to find out that a public figure we all admire, has some derogatory or demeaning things to say about us? Isn’t it sad that my Caucasian friend cannot speak her mind about that incident with the little black girl for fear of being labeled racist. How many times do we pull the race or gender card in our own favor? Mind you, I am not talking about the obvious racists and bigamists. Those folks belong to a different league altogether. I’m more concerned about the supposedly nice ones. Me and you. Yes, that’s right. Those of us, who seem to love all human kind. We have a bigger role to play in the effort to attain equality. We are so set in our ways and have already made up our minds about the next individual who comes along. It is harder for us to adjust our ‘vision’ because we desperately want to believe that we are propagators of equality. The sad part is that our children may just learn their human relations ethic from us. Well, it’s about time that we start accepting that we are just not able to like everyone or treat everyone equally. However, we should learn to respect our fellow humans. The best we can do is to keep on trying to promote equality in our lives. But, as to when the citizens of this world will be Utopian enough to be equal, I have no idea.

Reference

Garner, B. (2004). Black’s Law Dictionary. Thomson West (8^th ed) St. Paul, MN.