Life Just Isn't Fair

Let's turn this around. Instead of asking for fairness ourselves, should we treat others fairly? Is fairness a reasonable ethical guideline?

I think it is. Consider ones own children. It would seem to be desirable to treat them 'fairly.' To provide them all with the same sorts of opportunities, to use discipline with an even hand, to not show favoritism. Demanding fairness from the world may be a futile gesture, but embodying it our own action seems like a worthwhile exercise.

I think there is a big difference in fairness in life in general and humans treating one another with fairness. For instance, if my daughter wants something one of her friends has, and believes it unfair that so and so has it and she doesn't, well my response is to tell her that she needs to get over it (not exactly in those words), and that if she wants something that badly she can work for it. If she's not willing to work for it, well then that's her problem. I think too many people today are led to believe that life owes them something and that they should have whatever they want, and well life just doesn't work that way.

However, I teach her to be fair to others and that she should not accept people treating her unfairly (although she has a pretty skewed definition of what is and isn't fair right now). I'm talking about things like when she's with her friends and they suddenly start treating her as if she's not there, instead of quietly accepting in and getting upset later over it, she should confront them then and there and tell them how she feels about what they're doing (and this has happened on several occasions). So the next time she did say something and her friends were a bit shocked, but started including her again. One of them even apologized and happily blamed the other for having the idea. Lol

But I think expecting fair treatment from people in that respect is not unreasonable. And I'm not talking about expecting them to change their behavior. I'm talking about speaking your mind and choosing whether or not to allow yourself to remain in a situation where you are being treated unfairly. And certainly, as Marquis said, learning to treat others fairly (with equality) is something we, as Jedi, should be doing anyway.

Life seems plenty fair to me. It does not pay favor to anyone. It doesn't matter who you are or where you live. Life will kick you in the teeth equally. Life will leave you one day regardless of your stock portfolio or your retirement savings. Life doesn't care about your religion, skin color, gender, sexual preference, or financial statement. It does not stop for you. It does not bow to your beliefs. Life continues on regardless and pays not heed to your "differences". Life is probably the only fair and truly non-bias thing out there. Life is temporary. Life is scary. Life is fun. Life is beautiful. Life is ugly. Life simply is. And it is fair. It cares nothing for the glass walls we use to divide ourselves with. It treats all with equal indifference. Life is plenty fair. It is us humans that muck it all up.

Have you ever read or watched Fullmetal Alchemist? That universe is based on the idea of equivalent exchange, and I didn't realize how much I loved that idea until the characters experience OUR reality and it's like a hellish dystopia to them, because in their world EFFORT = REWARD and in ours, you can give and give and never get anything in return. (Or do nothing at all and receive a surplus.) It was sad to think about at first, but I think that the off-kilter way that our world functions sometimes inspires the most beautiful art and the most potent emotions.

Fairness, like good and evil are thoughts created by us. Why we think the fabric of reality would obey our thoughts is puzzling.

I've come across many people who expect things of life that they feel deserving of. They should get what they want and have things go their way.

Why they think the universe would obey those thoughts is equally as puzzling.

Fair is the best we can do with our limited understanding and when someone else isn't living up to their potential, there will always be a surplus of people willing to point it out. For me, there is no spoon.

MR. MOUSY.....NOOOO!