As a mom of a 12 and 15 year old, I often get to hear pissy words about fairness. Last week’s rollick of a road trip, there were whining strains of who would get the ‘real bed,’ and who’d toss and turn to the soundtrack of snoring from a crappy cot.
No matter what time it is, it seems someone else always has it better…
I’m always tempted to shout “life isn’t fair!” but I don’t. Maybe because Deep Down, I still believe in fairness. So I try instead to talk about how over a long arc of time, each person gets what they need (and yes, the kids roll their eyes).
Even though I will likely never see the full fruition of fair in the world, I still feel it is important to work at making fairness a “thing” at home and in my community as best I can. I do this by the way I care for my kids, by marching for social programs and public schools, and by writing stuff like this… because maybe you believe in fairness too?
Fairness is funny, just like comedy, where timing is everything. And the timeline to get to that moment of perfect equilibrium may be much, much longer than a lifetime. That’s what I’m learning anyway: patience in doing my part toward a happier future for generations to come.
To truly evaluate if life is fair, we’d need to see a time container that includes generations of collective experience across the globe. We’d need a point of view that sees empirical history; that understands collective sentiment; that sees pendulum swings and the risings and falling of dynasties and institutions. And we’d need to accept all the stuff of our tiny little lives, even if “unfair,” so we could make the call.
For everyone of us who is lucky (and I am surely one), there are those who are not. For everyone who ‘has’ there are some who don’t. And inside every call for justice, there are iterations of US who are suffering and could use your help. Today.
