Are we all equal?

[Izanagi]

If we were supposed to be equal than we'd all be of the same social status, same health, same height, same weight, same nationality... but it doesn't seem that way, huh?

 

[Umbreon_]

All of us are equal. : ] That's what I know we all have lives.

 

[Tinhead Bruce]

If we were supposed to be equal than we'd all be of the same social status, same health, same height, same weight, same nationality... but it doesn't seem that way, huh?

What a catty response. I understand your point, but the way you said it was unnecessarily rude.

Let me take a stab at what I think she means. I don't know she actually meant this, but I don't think she was talking about from a "the way we're 'created'" standpoint. I think she was talking more about "endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" standpoint. That we're all supposed to be equal in terms of rights, as stated by the Declaration of Independence.

And yes, I know I left out the "by their Creator" part. It was on purpose, because I'm not bringing God into this.

 

[OokamiShipper]

If we were supposed to be equal than we'd all be of the same social status, same health, same height, same weight, same nationality... but it doesn't seem that way, huh?

Sorry, I didn't mean to be vague or anything.

Ack, forget what I said. I guess I don't seem to understand this topic completely, I shouldn't have said anything. ^^;

 

[Guillermo]

All of us are equal. : ] That's what I know we all have lives.

Yes, but our lives are not equal. Besides, some kids don't even experience life. Babies can die before even leaving her mothers womb, and some die right after childbirth. Some parents die giving childbirth, and never get to see their baby girl or boy grow up. How is that equal, or fair?

There's people that live to be 105, and then there's people that live to be, what, 2?

Like Sav said, if it comes down to equal rights, yes we should all be equal, but still we're not. People are too self-opinionated to allow that.

 

[Esper]

What do material possessions have to do with equality? The question was "Are we equal?" not "do we have equal stuff?" People =/= things. That means money, status, muscle mass, intelligence or anything else you can put into numbers. If you say you think someone with Down syndrone is less equal you're judging based on some kind of reasoning or intelligence scale and would be ignoring, for instance, a person's capacity to love, which can't really be measured and is not at all irrelevant. You can't quantify people so there's no way to say that people (not things) are unequal.

 

[Guillermo]

What do material possessions have to do with equality? The question was "Are we equal?" not "do we have equal stuff?" People =/= things. That means money, status, muscle mass, intelligence or anything else you can put into numbers. If you say you think someone with Down syndrone is less equal you're judging based on some kind of reasoning or intelligence scale and would be ignoring, for instance, a person's capacity to love, which can't really be measured and is not at all irrelevant. You can't quantify people so there's no way to say that people (not things) are unequal.

You mention material possessions not making people who they are, but if you look at people, they judge who they are off of just that. A kid with an iPod Touch, an iPhone, a nice car and a flat screen TV in his or her room is going to consider himself or herself fairly high up in the world.

So someone's capacity to love makes them who they are? I don't think so. This is about the respect people receive, not what they're capable of. Really, you think a Down Syndrome child is just as equal in terms of respect compared to a healthy child? No. People judge others with disabilities, and that's not equal.

Of course I could just be taking the message you're trying to get across wrong, and if I am I'm truly sorry.

 

[Esper]

You mention material possessions not making people who they are, but if you look at people, they judge who they are off of just that. A kid with an iPod Touch, an iPhone, a nice car and a flat screen TV in his or her room is going to consider himself or herself fairly high up in the world.

Thinking you're better than other people doesn't make you better.

So someone's capacity to love makes them who they are? I don't think so. This is about the respect people receive, not what they're capable of. Really, you think a Down Syndrome child is just as equal in terms of respect compared to a healthy child? No. People judge others with disabilities, and that's not equal.

Not just one's capacity to love. The amount of respect you actually receive doesn't change the amount you deserve to receive. From an objective standpoint no single human life is more important than another so therefore we are all equal. Even bad people are equal because they can be the cause of good things in others, just as smart, loved, generous people can be the cause of bad things.

You can't quantify the worth people, the value. The military assesses your worth as a soldier. Your teacher assesses your worth as a student. No one can tell you what your worth is as a human being.

 

[Fox♠]

this is gonna turn into a flamefest, look at the arrogant asses already -_-"

Sorry but who the hell are you to call others arrogant over their opinions? It's a discussion there's supposed to be more than one side to it.

I think we're all born equal, but as people we can choose to decline or excel throughout life. I class myself as a far superior human to a lot of this forum simply because of my achievements thus far.

And for the "evry1 equal" gang; What about Hitler? Was/he an equal human being to yourselves?

 

[Izanagi]

I also deem myself superior to most of my classmates because I feel as if I have a higher level of understanding and wisdom.

 

[Fox♠]

I also deem myself superior to most of my classmates because I feel as if I have a higher level of understanding and wisdom.

Exactly, you've chosen to learn as opposed to objecting it, your classmates had the same equal chances but they haven't excelled and are in my opinion therefore inferior.

I feel I have better morals than a lot of people I know, as well as being more educated and caring, therefore I feel I am the superior to them.

 

[Guillermo]

Thinking you're better than other people doesn't make you better.

Not just one's capacity to love. The amount of respect you actually receive doesn't change the amount you deserve to receive. From an objective standpoint no single human life is more important than another so therefore we are all equal. Even bad people are equal because they can be the cause of good things in others, just as smart, loved, generous people can be the cause of bad things.

You can't quantify the worth people, the value. The military assesses your worth as a soldier. Your teacher assesses your worth as a student. No one can tell you what your worth is as a human being.

No, thinking you're better than someone else doesn't make you better but it doesn't matter what you are, what matters is what you think you are. If you truly think you're superman, then you're superman. If you think you're better than someone else, then you think you're better than them. It doesn't matter what society tells you. What matters is what you tell you.

So you're telling me that if someone came along, murdered everyone you ever cared about and leaves you mentally scarred for the rest of your life, you'd believe they deserve respect? I don't think you would. People are given the opportunity to be equal. Some refuse, and some accept. If someone refuses then that's tough luck to them.

Sure a teacher assesses your work as a student, but the work may not be the same as the kids next to you. Schools often put the less educated people in special classes to help them become equal to others in their education.

 

[Izanagi]

I don't like to use grades to gauge intelligence or anything like that. Kid One could be smarter than Kid Two, but Kid Two could test better, because he's got photographic memory, or studies better, or something.

 

[Zeph.]

Is a man who has worked hard his whole life and earned a great fortune in order to sustain a family equal to a rapist or murderer, for example?

 

[Esper]

So you're telling me that if someone came along, murdered everyone you ever cared about and leaves you mentally scarred for the rest of your life, you'd believe they deserve respect?

Of course I would be angry and wouldn't feel like giving them any respect, but I'd have gone through a terrible ordeal and wouldn't be able to be objective. I would hope that someone not personally affected would be able to have a level head and insist that the murderer be treated fairly.

Sure a teacher assesses your work as a student, but the work may not be the same as the kids next to you. Schools often put the less educated people in special classes to help them become equal to others in their education.

Like you said, equal in terms of education, but not equal in terms of being a person. It would be silly to say that a person's worth is determined by their education.

 

[WolfgangWhiplash]

Equality (in value, rights, etc.) will never be achieved because it is the human nature to surpass the other. This is both good and bad, because humanity evolved into today with this in mind (not only this, but it played a pretty important role).

 

[otakulily]

No, not according to my superiority complex.

 

[Guillermo]

Of course I would be angry and wouldn't feel like giving them any respect, but I'd have gone through a terrible ordeal and wouldn't be able to be objective. I would hope that someone not personally affected would be able to have a level head and insist that the murderer be treated fairly.

If it was me, personally, I would want them to suffer and be miserable for the remainder of their life. The murderer wasn't being fair or equal to murder another. Like I said, every single person that has an education and has a well-funded family when they're born has the opportunity to be equal and excel. Some throw it away and move to a life of crime. If they had their opportunity and didn't take it, I don't believe they deserve equal respect to someone who did and got far in life.

Like you said, equal in terms of education, but not equal in terms of being a person. It would be silly to say that a person's worth is determined by their education.

A persons worth isn't determined by their education, no. I agree. But it does determine what other people think they're worth and at the end of the day, if someone doesn't have a fitting education, they're not going to excel very far in life, which then brings in the fact that society looks down on less educated people. For example, you go to a job interview and realise there's only you and another person going for said job. You decided you would do your work in school, got good grades and are currently studying at a university. The other person did no such thing. Didn't do work, doesn't go to uni and mooches off of his or her parents all the time and has no sense of education in them. Who gets the job?

I do agree on a lot of your points, though.

 

[Rich Boy Rob]

No, thinking you're better than someone else doesn't make you better but it doesn't matter what you are, what matters is what you think you are. If you truly think you're superman, then you're superman. If you think you're better than someone else, then you think you're better than them. It doesn't matter what society tells you. What matters is what you tell you.

So you're telling me that if someone came along, murdered everyone you ever cared about and leaves you mentally scarred for the rest of your life, you'd believe they deserve respect? I don't think you would. People are given the opportunity to be equal. Some refuse, and some accept. If someone refuses then that's tough luck to them.

Sure a teacher assesses your work as a student, but the work may not be the same as the kids next to you. Schools often put the less educated people in special classes to help them become equal to others in their education.

I agree with you on some points, but you seem to have contradicted yourself a bit. By what you said, if said murderer believed they sane and better than everyone else, then they would be sane better than everyone else :\

 

[Dawn]

Nobody is equal. Nobody should be equal ._. Absolutely not. I would die to prevent such an atrocity.

...There is a big difference between equal rights and being equal.
To be equal, everyone would have to be exactly the same as everyone else.

Everyone requires different treatment to sate their differences. This is fairness.