DAY 43 – KEY ASPECT: EQUALITY AND FAIRNESS

For the past three years I have been helping my daughter to learn math. I introduced numbers to her at the age of two and recently showed her how to add and subtract using the plus, minus and equal signs. While developing a strategy for how to convey the concepts of addition and subtraction it dawned on me that the plus, minus and equal signs have a significance much greater than just adding and subtracting numbers. They can represent how human beings treat one another.

People everywhere want a better life. Nothing is handed to us so we work for what we have. Our thoughts and actions that enable us to achieve or not achieve the desired better life can be viewed with the mathematical symbols of whether they add to or subtract from our ability to have that better life and whether our actions create equality and fairness with our fellow human beings.

Minus signs in terms of having a better life and living in a better world can be seen everywhere. Those who do not have enough food to eat, clean water to drink or live in squalor are not as fortunate as many of their fellow human beings. People who are excluded, repressed or targets of verbal and physical mistreatment, whether at the hands of a loved one or because of the group they belong to, have a more difficult life. Wherever there is an environmental problem the earth has a minus sign attached to that situation.

Anti-thoughts, selfish thoughts, inconsiderate thoughts and exclusionary thoughts are all minus signs because such thinking leads to non-beneficial actions directed at certain individuals and groups. Those who think like that put their interests ahead of the interests of people they think poorly of. There are no equal signs attached to the targets of discrimination, exclusion and intolerance by people who have disdain for a fellow human being just a desire to belittle others and prevent them from living as good of a life as they possibly can have.

The psychological effect of having detrimental actions aimed at oneself by someone can be devastating. How many people lose hope for a better tomorrow when they aren’t treated well? How many people become bitter with a deep animosity towards their fellow human beings when they are not afforded an opportunity like others? Without an equality of hope, opportunity and fairness we do not have as much harmony in this world and without harmony our world is not as good as it could otherwise be.

While human difficulties are in plain sight and cannot be hidden, it sometimes seems hard to see the many plus signs that are right in front of us all the time. Looking closely at people with their immediate family we can see the love that they have for one another. When a problematic situation develops for anyone in a family the other members gather to help resolve it. There is a sense of unity that encourages and inspires each person to reach for greater heights because of their supportive loving family.

We also have so many plus signs in the world at large. People are living longer with fewer health problems. We are feeding more human beings than ever before. There are people standing up for equality and fairness. More people are getting an education that enables them to become a productive member of society. There are people volunteering to help those who need help and when a disaster strikes people rush in to help those affected by it. Our world is made up of billions of people who care.

After thinking about the plus, minus and equal signs in math I now realize that when problems exist there is a minus sign attached to that situation since it prevents someone or some group of human beings from meeting the basic requirements for a better life. All of us need to work towards changing minus signs into plus signs in their personal and societal equation. A journey into an equally better future with more fairness requires plus and equal signs everywhere.