Equity
Ever since Joe showed up in the White House there’s been a lot of dialogue about “Equity”, not to be confused with “Equality”. Biden has read about equity ad nauseum from his teleprompter. So, what’s all the blather about, regarding this endless equity talking point from the President and his progressive liberal pals? Meanwhile, they continue their never-ending march to remake the United States.
The difference between the two is significant. Equality is simply equal treatment, balanced competition, and evenhanded adjudicated outcomes. Equity means all outcomes are achieved equally, usually by unequal treatment, biased competition and preferential judging. That’s what the progressives will never admit.
The tub-thumpers for equity have hidden these crucial differences for a reason, because they challenge America’s founding core principles, that people should be treated equally and judged as individuals not as members of groups or social tribes.
This demand for equity contradicts a thousand years of Anglo-Saxon law and political evolution. It undermines the principles from the 17th century Age of Enlightment that promoted equal treatment for individuals of different social rank and religion. Thomas Jefferson drew on this when he wrote the Declaration of Independence stating it was “self-evident” that “all men are created equal.” No doubt some progressive loon will want to rewrite the document substituting “people” for “men”.
For years, Americans have demanded that all levels of government stop giving special treatment to the rich and powerful. One only must observe the very evident two-tiered justice system that is being exposed daily. This is a demand for equality. Also, fair-minded citizens recognize that equal treatment should begin early. All public schools in the nation should be adequately funded for all students regardless of race, creed or color, with well trained and well compensated educators who don’t have a woke agenda.
The claim that the unfair treatment of previous generations or perhaps a disadvantaged childhood, entitles one to special consideration today, is patently unfair. Americans by and large, are both generous and pragmatic and have been willing to extend benefits to those who are truly in need. They don’t want to turn these dispensations into large, permanent entitlement programs that end up giving substantially different treatment to different groups, even if those groups have suffered historical wrongs. Reparations for descendants of slaves is a prime example of this as now, no living Americans have ever been slaves.
Instead of making their case openly and honestly, progressives who demand equity mislead to avoid revealing their radical goal of remaking society through guilt and coercion. When they don’t get the results they seek, their remedy is obvious: more money (see Joe’s latest budget proposal for the nation), more rules and more Soviet-like indoctrination. No one will be specific about who will receive these special benefits or how long will they last. Who is shouldering this expense? There is a need of more bureaucrats to manage these programs. Who determines if the outcomes are fair and have an end date?
On a personal note, I recently met a doctor, a legal immigrant, a minority who had risen to a position of prestige and respect in the local community. He joined the military while in medical school because he wanted to give back to the country that had given him so much. His journey through medical school was not because he had “equity” but because he had equal opportunity, something that was not possible in his native land. This individual has worked his butt off, paid his own way in a nation that afforded him a chance to soar. Equity had nothing to do with his success.
The goal of achieving equal outcomes evades the real question. What really is “Equity”? It’s the progressive liberals new brand name for the oldest program of achieving equal outcomes as practiced by Karl Marx.
Its name is socialism.
Not in my country, now or ever.