There’s a lie about equality that’s been around for a long time but it’s gained significant popularity in the last 10 years or so. Like all good lies, it dresses itself up as something good when in reality it’s very harmful. This lie convinces people it’s a progressive idea that elevates people but in reality it’s one of the oldest tricks in the book and it devalues people.
It’s the lie that equality means sameness.
The lie says that if people aren’t the same then they aren’t equal. So the world tries to make everyone the same and tells them that makes them equal. But the truth is God made no duplicates. God loves diversity. He made everyone equal but different. The truth is equality has never meant sameness. But we often confuse, and therefore equate, the two.
The current world tells us we are all the same. It tells us there are no differences between nations, races, cultures, sexes, or families. It tells us we are all equal and therefore all the same. It tells us that equal in worth means equal in ability. But the reality is we are all equal in worth but different in ability.
And that’s a very good thing.
Think about it. Take my family for example. I have four brothers and we are all equal. We have the same parents, we are the same race, and we are the same gender. Our worth is the same. We are all Prather boys. But our abilities are different. Some of us are good with computers and technology and some of us aren’t (that’s me). Some of us are talented bakers and chefs and some of us aren’t (that’s me too). Some of us are great outdoorsmen and hunters and some of us aren’t (also me). Some of us are extraverted and outgoing and some of us aren’t (yep, me). And that’s only the boys; my sisters have strengths none of the boys have. We are all equal in worth as human beings but we have different skills and abilities.
Or you can expand that out a step and compare families. My family is good at focusing and obsessing about one thing. Each of us can find something and focus on it to death. Sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not. But some other families aren’t built that way. They have different strengths and different weaknesses.
Or take my wife and I for example. We are equal in worth but if you asked my wife to deadlift 700 pounds she wouldn’t be able to do it. But on the other hand I’ve never met anyone with the instincts for people and relationships she has. And I couldn’t begin to have the sacrificial love she does. She has the strongest love I’ve ever seen. We have different abilities. My wife was created to do the things I can’t do. And vise-versa. But neither of us has more value than the other.
The same thing goes for races and cultures. There are certain qualities that Americans have that people of other countries don’t have. For example Americans value personal freedom and independence very highly. Once Americans have a freedom they rarely give it up. That’s the reason cars and guns and the free market are never going anywhere in America. It’s the reason public transportation will probably never be the main mode of transportation in America. Americans want to ability to come and go and move and leave whenever they want. They love cars because they love individual freedom. Americans believe in freedom and independence so much they even want other countries to have it and value it as much as they do. Independence is in the soul of every American.
John Adams, America’s second president and one of the principal founders of the nation, was asked to write speech for the 50th anniversary of independence. Fifty-years was a big landmark for democracy and for America, and the celebration still stands as one of the biggest celebrations of independence the nation has ever had. John Adams boiled the celebration down to its core; he only sent back a two-word speech: Independence Forever.
Americans value independence.
Some other countries don’t value individual independence and personal freedom the same way Americans do. India for example has a much stronger familial viewpoint. India finds it’s identity in groups and in families. The individual is only a representative of the family and not an individual. Everything they do speaks to who their family is and not to who the individual is. Identity is found in community and not in individuality. But neither way makes one country better than the other or worth more than the other. A human being in India has the same value as a human being in the United States.
All humans (regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, culture, or anything else) are equal in worth and value and therefore deserve equal rights, but we are each different in ability. Our strengths and weaknesses are different. It’s illogical to think otherwise. It doesn’t take a genius to realize I don’t have the same abilities and strengths Oprah Winfrey has.
I love sports and often relate things to athletics, so I have one more example for you. Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player ever. Imagine you are blessed with five MJ’s on one team. Five identical Michael Jordan’s, all with the same ability. Five copies of the greatest basketball player ever, all on one team. On the other team you have Steve Nash, Steph Curry, Lebron James, Tim Duncan, and Shaq. All of whom play different positions and have different abilities. Which team do you think would win? The team with diversity would beat the team that is identical every single time.
The lie the world tells us is that to be equal we have to be the same. Admitting that one nation or culture or race or gender or family or person has skills and abilities you or yours might not have is unacceptable. But the truth is diversity is where strength lies.
The humility to admit that someone has a strength that can make up for a weakness you may have is not weak. It’s actually very strong. No one is better than you. No one is worse than you. But someone may be better than you at something. And that doesn’t make them a more valuable person than you are. Or vise versa.
Here’s the thing. I have a little girl. My girl isn’t going to grow up believing she can do anything men can do. She’s going to grow up believing she can do things men can’t do.
The point is this. You shouldn’t wish you were someone else. Or try to be someone else. Be you. There are billions of people on earth. There’s only one you. You are special. Equal in worth to everyone else, but one of a kind. Act accordingly.
