It’s a basic statement, one that I make to my children on a weekly, if not daily, basis.
"Life’s not fair.”
Yet, it is for that very reason we work towards justice.
The kids and I watched The Six Triple Eight this weekend, and it highlighted a key aspect of unfairness. Women, particularly women of color, have always had to work harder than others to prove their merit. This was not true just in WW2; it is still true today.
In a true meritocracy, you can get a job with your credentials. But the white billionaires at the top of the governmental food chain don’t want to earn their position. They want to strongman themselves into their jobs. They create a problem and then offer the solution to it, creating a mirage of competence, all while dismissing the actual competence of others.
The current executive orders (and the dismissive social media rhetoric) on DEI are a giant middle finger to the hardworking ordinary man. The top one percent is trying to make sure that they stay in power, and to do so, they need to deny access to those who would make them work for it. For centuries, a select group of people held power not based on their merit but in spite of it. For less than 100 years, that power has been slipping from their grasp, and they don’t like it. But rather than buckle down and do the work to prove themselves worthy, they grasp the past as a golden age. They aspire to an American dream that they have narrowly defined. They don’t like women. They don’t like people of color. They don’t like the indigenous people, and they don’t like men who don’t fit their mold.
Here’s the thing about DEI: it’s not just about providing equity for skin color. It also affects those who have overcome a variety of mental and physical health issues to become competent. Whether it is autism (which is genetic and not the result of vaccines. Brain damage may occur from vaccines, which is not the same as autism), ADHD, Down syndrome, challenges with motor development, etc, etc. the DEI initiatives mean that you give those people a fair chance rather than dismissing than out of hand.
Life’s not fair; talent and ability are not the province of men, but it seems that opportunity has been bent in their direction.
My children are not all equally talented; they are uniquely talented. They have several strikes against them already. They are poor, live in Montana, don’t have parents with college degrees, etc. They also have some privileges: they are white, their parents work hard to ensure they receive an education with IEPs when needed, and they are being raised with love. I hope they will learn to work hard and harmoniously with others because that is how we move toward true greatness and equity. They will not enter an even playing field; they will have to work harder than some and not as hard as others. My daughters will face discrimination that my sons will not, and my sons will have to walk through rough territory to prove that being a man is not about big trucks, big guns, or any other external form of bigness.
Because life’s not fair.
These executive orders may lead to long-term change, but not without hurting many people first. Some of the offered protections are a distraction, a bait-and-switch, a misdirection to appear that things are getting done. Do we need to address trans folk in sports? Maybe, but not as much as we need to address maternity leave in this country. Should the processed foods in America be addressed? Sure, but not by carte blanche elimination based on conspiracy.
But life isn’t fair, and we will need to buckle up because we, the people, will pay the price of greed and corruption. It will require that we walk with humility, practice mercy, and work toward the justice that the rich and powerful want to eliminate.
For the Ears
Under the claims of protecting women, many men have committed great harm against them in religious circles. The Doug Wilson sect rooted in Moscow, Idaho, is one I have brushed up against in via in-laws. This series is doing an excellent job of bringing some of the stories there to the surface.
For the Eyes
What in the Jean Valjean world are we living in? An egg heist!
You can watch The Six Triple Eight on Netflix.
For the Taste Buds
Since the price of eggs is on the rise, I am trying to keep a list of my egg substitutes, mostly when it comes to baking. Applesauce works well in cookies, while vinegar and baking soda are better for cakes. Plain and vanilla yogurt work well in pancakes and other breakfast-y foods.
May this week bring goodness to your senses and your soul.