Posts
Fairness may be an easy term to define, but it’s much more nebulous
when we make an effort to point it out in reality or determine how to bring it
about (or even if we want it, but that’s another story).
The reason I got to thinking about fairness is because on NPR this last
week (I listen to NPR on my way to work) they've been discussing the “sequester”
and the impact it will have on the defense department. NPR has been talking
about how the deep cuts in defense spending will impact the civilian jobs paid
for by the defense department (employees will be forced to take 22 unpaid
furlough days per year), and how the cuts will affect our “military readiness”.
Now, obviously Defense is posturing, because the last thing they want is for
their bloated budget to get cut, and for them to actually have to tighten their
belt and buy equipment that gets used and pay for personnel that actually
serves the interest of the armed forces; but that’s an issue for another day.
Let’s suffice it to say that the Defense Department will say and do whatever
they have to do to continue to receive the portion of the budget they receive.
But what struck me most about this article was not the fact that the Defense
Department was whining about furlough days and military readiness, but the
complete failure of NPR – the supposed mouthpiece of the left – in discussing
how the other part of the sequester, the cuts in non-defense spending, will affect
literally hundreds of thousands of people.
But I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this fact. Fairness doesn't
matter in this country. Fairness is a buzz word used by politicians to get
people to hate and deride other people, while at the same time doing things
that are unfair to others. Is it fair that minor drugs offenses send people to
jail and give them felony convictions which affect the rest of their lives,
while investment bankers gamble with your and the government’s money and lose
literally trillions of dollars, but receive nothing lighter than a golden
parachute (and a government bailout)? Is it fair that the working poor can
hardly make ends meet, but are not only scorned by the wealthy for (supposedly)
draining government coffers, but also pay higher tax rates than those at the very
top who don’t even work for a living (and actually are the one’s draining government
coffers through subsidies and special tax breaks)? Is it fair that immigrants
(illegal or not) come to this country every day, labor hard doing shitty work
while constantly fearing discrimination and deportation, while working hard to
make a living for their family, only to have politicians in this country turn
around and describe them all as criminals, who are doing nothing to serve this
country but instead draining our resources (which is patently false according
to statistics – something conservatives are generally afraid of) and/or taking
the jobs from “hard-working (but unwilling to do the jobs) Americans”.
The fact is, things are not fair. I wish they were. I wish everyone had
basic health care. I wish everyone had access to a good education. I wish
everyone could get a job. I wish everyone cared to get a job. I wish people
didn't manipulate the system. I wish there wasn't fraud. I wish the media was
open and honest. I wish politicians were open and honest. I wish people who
committed financial crimes would be held responsible. I wish. I wish. I wish.
The list goes on and on. But the reality is reality. But one wish that I think
actually can and should come true is that people who support the system of
inequality and unfairness, shouldn't be allowed to whine about it once they’re
facing the sharp end. To quote John Kennedy from his inaugural address, “those
who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside”.
