Another story for the weekend.

Filed in National by on April 28, 2007

Since the editor of Delaware Liberal was more than complimentary of my little post last week, I thought I would try to do the same this week. I’m not sure how it will go over but I have carte blanche supposedly so why not press the enevolope a little.

I can’t put my finger on it and I am not sure which way I want to take this post so I am going to free style it a little and see where my thoughts take me (and you). I think I want to write about fairness. No not the fairness doctrine. I know little about it besides it’s name. I just mean the word fair. I have read and heard about how even “Monkeys Show Sense Of Fairness”. My point being that, for Christ Sake, even a freaking monkey knows when it isn’t being treated equitably.

The article I linked to is really quite an amazing thing when you get down to a primal level. As humans there is something in us that just knows when we are getting screwed.

The question of whether human aversion to unfair treatment—now shown by other primates—is an evolved behavior or the result of the cultural influence of large social institutions like religion, governments, and schools, in the case of humans, has intrigued scientists in recent years

How insane is this? How crazy is it that even a monkey can figure out when it is getting less than an another monkey? When another monkey is getting more food? When a monkey does the same work as another but sees that the other monkey is getting rewarded better for it what does that say?

Am I hung up on money? Maybe? But it isn’t about money with me or at least it isn’t when I look deeper inside? I think it is about fairness? I think it has to do with being treated fairly. Like I said this post is more likely going to be more like you following me down a road, down a road I have never been, but want to go down to see where it leads. (on an uneducated level of course)

I just can’t seem to find the next level that gets me to answer these questions i have about why I feel the way I do. Is it the lack of security? That may be it. Is it that lack of security that makes us great as Americans? Is that what drives us to succeed? The fear of failure is so powerful that it drives us to improve, to want more, to have more than the other person.

By having more than the other person we secure our future, we know that we are better than someone else and therefor secure our place, our rank amongst the others among us? I don’t know maybe though that is it.

Is the feeling of unfairness in all of us as humans? It isn’t in all of us that is for sure in my opinion. There are people out there that don’t see a problem with it. they think it is natural. they dont’ care like we do, like I do. right? There is something in me that screams for fairness, but is it fairness that I want or just my share. That I want to be able to provide for my family, give my wife and kids everything that the guy next door has? I don’t know, I just don’t know

Maybe I want people in general to be treated better. The people that make nothing a day, that have to choose between eating their dinner or letting their children eat instead. I want people to be able to breath air that won’t give them asthma. I want them to eat foods that wont give them cancer. I want them to to be able to go to a school that will educate them the same as a private school does. I want people to be able to have the same chance at success that is due to us, that is promised to us in school books, on the statue of liberty….

to be continued……

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Comments (4)

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  1. TomaHawk says:

    “Maybe I want people in general to be treated better. The people that make nothing a day, that have to choose between eating their dinner or letting their children eat instead. I want people to be able to breath air that won’t give them asthma. I want them to eat foods that wont give them cancer. I want them to to be able to go to a school that will educate them the same as a private school does. I want people to be able to have the same chance at success that is due to us, that is promised to us in school books, on the statue of liberty….”

    And I am willing to pay the taxes necessary to achieve those ends. I’m retired on a blue collar pension. I am willing to contribute a “fair” share to improve our society.

  2. jason330 says:

    The “7 Habits of Effective People” guy wrote one interesting thing. It was about an the two primary “attitudes” that people tend to approach life with. One is an “atttitude of scarcity” and the other is an “attitude of abundance.”

    He observed that people who have an attitude of scarcity tend to act in petty self serving ways. To these people tolerate cheating and have a “ends justifies the means” approach to taking and hording. Everything is a zero sum “I win/you lose” proposition.

    While people who have an attitude of abundance look at life as a series of opportunities to “enlarge the pie” working with others to create “win/win” situations.

    Interesting stuff.

  3. Rebecca says:

    Speaking of win/win – there’s still room on the Wind Riders Express to Dover on Wednesday! You get to ride for free, that’s a win and you get to help us influence the people in Dover who are making the Wind Power decision, another win!

    The bus leaves Fairfax Shopping Center on Concord Pike at 2:00 (assemble at 1:45) on Wednesday, May 2, and we’ll be back around 5:00. Call or email to reserve your seat – 234-3364 or young.rh@comast.net

  4. jason330 says:

    I’ll be joining you guys from work, so I’ll see you in Dover.