It is a truism that every baby born into the world is equal to every other person in the world at the instant of birth. Within seconds, through no fault of the infant that equality terminates because some babies are born between rows of lettuce where the Mother labors daily; other babies are born in giant hospitals where healthcare workers scurry about like bees around a hive or ants in a hill. Some tots are adopted and their future is hopeful but uncertain. Worldwide about 6% or about 7.9 million babies are born with ‘birth defects’ annually while in the U.S. about 3% of our approximately 4 million childbirths have ‘birth defects’ (120,000).
Over the past few years women in the workplace are pointed out as being paid less than men who perform the same or ‘equal’ tasks. Other inequalities are often in the form of racial minorities. In our great nation laws covering most ‘inequalities’ among dissimilar individuals protect where they can live, how much they’re paid and other biases that has been exhibited by realtors, businesses, educational institutions and other pursuits and locations. It seems that every government institution in the U.S. tries to accommodate all disparate individuals and groups. However, remnants of bias and prejudice exist in our society and offenders are often punished in some manner when apprehended.
Equality should and must exist throughout all corporate and government (political) structures, not just for the sake of tolerance and diversity but to draw in the best members of our proud national opportunity-based workplaces. We try to be a nation of legal immigrants who have a thirst for freedom when entering our system of laws and justice, our customs of peace and security and recognize our symbols of patriotism and loyalty. Our Constitution is one of the most respected documents in the world.
Our Congressmen and women have superior healthcare plans compared with ordinary citizens; is this fair and equal? Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has a husband named Richard Blum, a realtor who just received exclusive listing of 56 surplus government (USPS) buildings around the USA. The estimated value of these buildings is 19 billion that should yield about $1.1 billion in commissions over the listing and sales period. Is that fair and/or equal to the thousands of realtors in the nation? This is not coincidence; politics played a role of inequality.
Politics is often selective and unequal in thought and action. Examples include the many women in the life of former President Clinton who in 1998 paid Paula Jones $850,000 without accepting responsibility. On the distaff side of the Clinton family, Hillary was not punished for deleting over 30,000 E-mail messages and destroying evidence such as electronic devices during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. Sexual offenses are usually the result of a man’s feeling of privilege and superiority and power. Politicians should not be above the law; they have one vote just like everyone else.
Recently I read a poignant story of a man who achieved ‘equality’ status through diligence and persistence. His name is Kelvin Cochran who was born and raised in poverty in Shreveport, LA and as a little boy seeing firemen putting out a nearby fire, decided to become a fireman some day. His diligence got him to Atlanta, GA where he became a highly decorated firefighter and was President Obama’s Fire Administrator. Cochran was invited back to Atlanta as Fire Chief and was honored as ‘Fire Chief of the Year’ in 2012 for his outstanding service. Then he wrote a 162 page Christian Devotional on his own time explaining his views on sex and marriage. He was summarily fired but sued and won a $1.2 million settlement (Constitutional Amendment #1, ratified by Congress, December 15th, 1791); Kelvin Cochran knew how to achieve equality.
There is abundant evidence of inequality throughout the world. There is a good chance that mankind will always create inequalities between genders, races and other dissimilarities. Equality cannot be assigned by governments, corporations or friends or enemies. Equality in these United States must be achieved by individuals picking good friends, by shunning crime, by becoming formally educated and by undergoing job training and experience.
Being a citizen of the United States of America is a full-time job; 24/7/365. It’s the best job you will ever have.
Dick Baynton