The Fairness Fallacy
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Fairness is a very seductive concept. Identical
twins brought up in every possible way the same; eating the same food, living
in the same room, wearing matching outfits, even dating young men who are
themselves identical will find that their observations and internal dialogue
differs, causing them to act and react differently. For as Alfred Adler
observed and wrote in his Birth Order articles, which delineated the influences
upon personality, people need to individuate and thus become unequally
themselves. Those who are twins can attest to this. So where exactly does
fairness apply? Or better yet, what kind of fairness would be fair to each
individual, given that no one person is like another?
To simplify this iffy situation, I’ll ask, “Is
farness fair?” On the other hand, perhaps it’s best to begin by admitting that
if each of us were honest with ourselves, we know that deep down inside each of
us, we wish for fairness. Especially since being treated fairly lets us…ummm…do
we want to be treated well by a person who, perhaps, unbeknownst to us has
labeled themselves the definer of the ‘common good’? What, you’re wondering, do
I mean? Simply put, whoever defines what’s fair can also define what’s foul.
Sort of like the Dr. Seuss character we read about in a book named ‘Yertle the
Turtle’, who according to Seuss talked all the other turtles into doing things
his way until the big oops occurred, which allowed the other turtles to go back
to life as it was before. But I’m certain that wasn’t true for the Yertle who
wanted to be king of all he could see, and ended up seeing nothing but the mud
he’d tumbled into when the other turtles starting slippin’ and sliddin’ off
each other’s shells, err, backs?
One of the things I loved about reading Dr.
Seuss books to my kids was his uncanny ability to teach my kiddo shimmidos what
they needed to know while making it fun, the other is the amazing reality that
parents like me, got some good stuff to like being able to see that (in the
case of Yertle) nothing, err, everything has a price, and that’s nice because if
you want to be treated fairly you have to do that to others too.
But wait a minute! Hold the horses! Who
defines what is fair…me, you? And how can those who don’t have some skin in the
game see what’s fair, or to say it more plainly...who ya’ gonna trust? Would
you trust the person who promised you something to trust him, the person who
seems to like you, the person who…who in this wide world can be truly
impartial? And if you find that person, how many will try to sway them to their
side?
So fairness, my friend, may be a word that’s like a clanging gong making a sound that breeds discontentment in those who want to just get by, and be called a star. Or fairness seen from God’s point of view may be Messiah hanging on a cross crucified for you. Think I’m wrong? Well think again! Whichever way you butter this up, fairness, or thinking you’ve been unfaired upon, is really and always was up to you. That’s right! Your thinker can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
So fairness, my friend, may be a word that’s like a clanging gong making a sound that breeds discontentment in those who want to just get by, and be called a star. Or fairness seen from God’s point of view may be Messiah hanging on a cross crucified for you. Think I’m wrong? Well think again! Whichever way you butter this up, fairness, or thinking you’ve been unfaired upon, is really and always was up to you. That’s right! Your thinker can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
Let’s stroll back to yesteryear while you,
like many today, think about feeling good about yourself, and remember Yogi
Bear, a real cartoon and a heck of a nice guy, who didn’t worry about fairness,
but I digress, or do I? My, I seem to have taken a wrong turn, so back to
fairness we go…fairness is most likely, in my opinion anyway, a means of
removing responsibility for the outcome by asking for a level playing field.
And since I know that the ground at the foot of the cross is level, as in we’re
all looking up, rather than checking each other out, I’ve come to believe that
this is what God’s love for us is all about.
Choosing
whether to compete in an imperfect world to obtain what will not last, or
accept the fact that God chose, before He called the world into creation, to
redeem you from whatever et al, seems to me more than fair because it cost Him
everything for Christ to hang up there. If you won’t believe, or refuse to
receive the blessings poured out that day for you, you’ll be trapped in the
fallacy of the ‘fairness game’ your whole life through. Of course it’s hard to
recognize what’s happening to you, so I’m citing some signs that may, I pray,
give you pause, because if you’re caught up in violating laws, building
yourself up at another’s expense, or doing things that are repugnant to you,
you’ve let the need for being treated fairly rob you blind as you left your
humanity behind, as one often does with the refuse of a far more pungent kind.
What would Dr. Seuss tell us about all of
that?…well, let’s take a look at ‘The Cat in the Hat’ who wreaked havoc with a
young boy and girl causing them all kinds of grief, but when the situation was
about to go south restored everything the way it had been before he entered the
house.
And that’s the best we can hope for when someone else is the arbitrator of fairness, because you see, only the arbitrator knows that fairness is never free, nor will it make you feel swell. In fact just the thought of fairness can cause one to panic for there are no rules, no way to…but maybe I’m wrong! Yep, I think I am, ’cause fairness is all about who’s in and who’s out, so if you’re currying favor for a cause or want to build a bridge to…you know what I mean, then the word ‘fairness’ is, perhaps, synonymous with a political machine!
What? You think I got that wrong? Well think again, because back when I first started to vote people were called to account for stalling the gov., for funding or defunding programs without voter consent and for granting contracts to friends without putting the project out for bid, and back then companies needed to prove that they could do the job. Then once the contract was awarded, those lucky few knew that the oversight provided meant if they didn’t perform each process as specified, the contract would be pulled. Not so today! No how! No way! I know, for if we were still true to the way things used to be, the government website for Health Care.Gov., which was awarded to a Canadian company without a bid and no oversight ever, would have been built by us and worked at the outset ’cause back when we Americans built what the world didn’t or couldn’t, we’d have made it ourselves the USA way, and if we’d gone and outsourced the work, we’d have never paid that company more money to fix what they couldn’t get right ’cause by the second time around the Pres. and the rest of the gov., would have apologized to us taxpayers for messing up, instead of using the system they’re supposed to uphold to spy on those who’d rather see someone new in the hot seat, I mean presidency asap…as in As Soon As Possible!
What’s going on today reminds me of those times, thank God not very few, when my folks would have us kids sit down and tell us that a family decision needed to be made. We nodded our heads as they handed us the line, “This family’s a democracy, so everything will be fine.” We’d listen all the while, sure that they already knew what they were going to do. When the time came for us to ask a question or state our point of view, we’d smile and shrug knowing no parent’s going to listen to a kid…so we’d go along…that made them happy and kept us…what? Kept us out of trouble, and how, ’cause you don’t know what trouble is until you try to tell the person in control that you’d rather…
Fairness seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, yet it’s only mentioned once in the Bible and that’s when God in Proverbs 29:14 instructs, “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.” Knowing that God only gives us thirteen words about being fair, and those words were given as incentive to those who govern others, I believe God Himself is showing us the pitfalls of judging what is fair and not fair.
And that’s the best we can hope for when someone else is the arbitrator of fairness, because you see, only the arbitrator knows that fairness is never free, nor will it make you feel swell. In fact just the thought of fairness can cause one to panic for there are no rules, no way to…but maybe I’m wrong! Yep, I think I am, ’cause fairness is all about who’s in and who’s out, so if you’re currying favor for a cause or want to build a bridge to…you know what I mean, then the word ‘fairness’ is, perhaps, synonymous with a political machine!
What? You think I got that wrong? Well think again, because back when I first started to vote people were called to account for stalling the gov., for funding or defunding programs without voter consent and for granting contracts to friends without putting the project out for bid, and back then companies needed to prove that they could do the job. Then once the contract was awarded, those lucky few knew that the oversight provided meant if they didn’t perform each process as specified, the contract would be pulled. Not so today! No how! No way! I know, for if we were still true to the way things used to be, the government website for Health Care.Gov., which was awarded to a Canadian company without a bid and no oversight ever, would have been built by us and worked at the outset ’cause back when we Americans built what the world didn’t or couldn’t, we’d have made it ourselves the USA way, and if we’d gone and outsourced the work, we’d have never paid that company more money to fix what they couldn’t get right ’cause by the second time around the Pres. and the rest of the gov., would have apologized to us taxpayers for messing up, instead of using the system they’re supposed to uphold to spy on those who’d rather see someone new in the hot seat, I mean presidency asap…as in As Soon As Possible!
What’s going on today reminds me of those times, thank God not very few, when my folks would have us kids sit down and tell us that a family decision needed to be made. We nodded our heads as they handed us the line, “This family’s a democracy, so everything will be fine.” We’d listen all the while, sure that they already knew what they were going to do. When the time came for us to ask a question or state our point of view, we’d smile and shrug knowing no parent’s going to listen to a kid…so we’d go along…that made them happy and kept us…what? Kept us out of trouble, and how, ’cause you don’t know what trouble is until you try to tell the person in control that you’d rather…
Fairness seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, yet it’s only mentioned once in the Bible and that’s when God in Proverbs 29:14 instructs, “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.” Knowing that God only gives us thirteen words about being fair, and those words were given as incentive to those who govern others, I believe God Himself is showing us the pitfalls of judging what is fair and not fair.
However,
believing in God as I do, I believe that God’s desire for us is that we know
and choose fellowship with Him. For God so loved the world, that’s you and me,
that He gave…and will continue to give until the very end.
The choice is simply put, do you want to live with the illusion that someone else’s idea of ‘fairness’ will make, or should I say seduce you into believing that you feel good, or do you want to know that just as you are right now, God loves you? http://amzn.to/WfYxaD
The choice is simply put, do you want to live with the illusion that someone else’s idea of ‘fairness’ will make, or should I say seduce you into believing that you feel good, or do you want to know that just as you are right now, God loves you? http://amzn.to/WfYxaD
About the Author
Years later, when lauded as an author of merit for writing about choices, their consequences, and her passion for becoming that’s found within each book and is the one word that defines her, Paula said, “Where would any of us be if it weren’t for choices made and lessons learned?”
Known by those in recovery as the author of the LAMB Ministry 7X7 Recovery books, and by fiction lovers as the author of sweet Christian romance with a Messianic twist and a hint of history, her Naomi Chronicles are a continuation of Naomi’s faith journey which readers fall in love with when they read Books 1 & 2 of the ‘Casa de Naomi: The House of Blessing’ Saga. As a Messianic Jew, the wife of Chosen People Ministries Field Missionary, and Lutheran Pastor, Ron Michelson, and one who writes to fulfill the Great Commission, Paula has seen God change lives when people believe in and call upon Him. This mother of two married daughters, Paula is the grandmother of seven.
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