Equality

Equality. 

The word itself, according to Merriam-Webster, means "the quality or state of being equal."  So why would we fight for equality for one or some, but not for all?  Isn't the selective fight the very antipode of equality?  Shouldn't all of mankind be afforded equality?  And if so, why do we label it?  Why do we insist on creating the means  by which to propagate discrimination and inequality by discerning one group's right to equality over another group's?

Should we continue to seek equality for one population, one majority or minority, some people, but not all?  Should we base the right to equality on the fact that one voice carries further or louder than another, or because one speaks more eloquently or demands more attention?  Should it not be simply because we are all in this together fighting for the same things, the same unalienable rights, and the same opportunities by which to achieve them?

Are we not all equally, unilaterally, and simultaneously privileged and disadvantaged?  Is any one man so great as to consider himself judge and jury over all?  To determine the ultimacy of right or wrong, acceptable or unacceptable, life or death?  To determine which labels will be shunned and which will revel in glory?

Should we not all be free to determine our path, to choose our fruits or our poisons from the same garden knowing that when we take the next step it will be with equal chance of succeeding or failing, dependent only on our own ability, inability, determination, or weakness, and not the predetermined destination of society or the law?

Should equality not be equally my equality, your equality, their equality...our equality.  Human equality.

Crumpled and Dirty

I'm posting this for safe keeping; I want to remember this to share with my future classes:

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We may feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.

You are special-Don't EVER forget it." If you do not pass this on, you may never know the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it may bring. Count your blessings, not your problems.

What if...

A response...

And, oh the power of hindsight! Had I succeeded in school on my first attempt almost 30 years ago, things could possibly be so much better for me financially! But, and I almost put that in capital letters, here is the big question - would I be as happy, content, or learned as I am today? Here comes the parental speech. We all make choices in our lives that we have to deal and live with, and we all, hopefully, learn something from those choices along the way. Would going back and doing things differently really change who we are? I truly like to think that it wouldn't. Despite the choices and roads we travel, I think that ultimately we cannot escape our own destiny and who we were meant to be. Life's lessons are as much a part of our knowledge base as the information on a page, and regardless of whether or not we ever enroll in a formal institution of higher learning, learning is something we succumb to everyday. We cannot escape it for the simple reason that it is as inescapable as breathing. Regardless of the task, activity, or leisure we are always introduced to something new, something fresh, and something that we have never known before. Pay attention - what did you learn today? What sensation, small fact, or intricate formula did you come across for the first time? Did you see a new face, a different shade of blue in the sky, read a bestseller or the newspaper (even if it was on your phone)? Did you hear a bird call that you've never heard before? Did someone reach out and touch you unexpectedly and make you smile or cry? What was it that made you react, and what did you learn? Harness it all when you enter the classroom, whether it be the classroom of life or otherwise. Even in this virtual one - bring everything you are and everything you hope to be with you to class!