Freedom From Homogeneity

It’s interesting how we fight for equality in life. It’s in-born. People want freedom, equality, no suffering. I think it says a lot for the basic character of the human race that most of us fight for these things–and want them for others as well. It’s what is behind so many of the social reform programs in America, so many of the questions and bills in congress, so much of our effort outside our own borders. And not just us, other countries do it too.


The only danger I see in all of this is when it goes too far, and instead of promoting equal peace, equal plenty, equal opportunity, we begin promoting sameness. The idea that everyone should have the exact same financial base, or advancement base, or reward base – regardless of what we’ve put into it. “What we’ve put into it” is the whole foundation of real freedom. Choice. Personal choice, and the ensuing accountability. Everyone should be free to choose: what we want to do, what the resulting outcome is and how we respond to it. And then we are free to live with it. If we start messing with that we ultimately lose freedom.


The beauty of differing circumstances — not promoting deprivation here, just personal choice — is it is often our difficult circumstances, our Necessity, from which new ideas and rich innovation are born. Necessity being the Mother of Invention. Our family has grown closer in times of joblessness. I mean there’s stress, but we’re pulling together like never before. There have been good things coming out of those times.


When it gets really scary to me is when it rolls over into the arena of opinion control. When everyone is supposed to think and feel the same things, or there is recrimination. No. The differences of opinion, differences of belief, even differences of circumstance, are what create the beauty of life. It is from these different viewpoints and experiences that art and culture and variety spring. That everyone doesn’t live in the same little brown Quonset hut with the same art on the walls and the same tv shows is because of differences. We shouldn’t want the Stepford society where nothing individual is respected or allowed.


Differences of every kind are the beauty of life. Even differences that poke at our own. All we have to do is make sure there is plenty of opportunity, be supportive of and preserve each others’ rights to believe and act and do, and then accept personal responsibility.


Sounds easy, right? No. It isn’t. And that’s another beauty of life. We get to work, as a whole and as individuals, to become better.