The issue with equality

There are several political issues that candidates argue about around election time. Abortion, gay rights, gun control, death penalties; the list goes on. One issue I believe stands above the rest is equality. At the end of the day it can be said that most people want to be treated equally. Whether it is women’s rights, lgtb rights or people’s rights we all deserve to be treated with fairness and equality. The issue with equality is for some reason it seems we have a difficult time giving it to others. Are women treated as equals in society? Are people of the LGTB community really equal? Do people of all races and colors have equal rights? If we look at the facts The institute for women’s policy research says that women still only make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes. Although there are laws being passed to create equality for the LGTB community it’s accurate that not every state has committed to making sure all peoples of the LGTB community have equal rights. Finally the good ole’ saying “all men are created equally.” If this was held true then our country never would have had to pass laws to make sure people knew it was serious. If it was held true then we wouldn’t still have issues involving racism today. Equality is one of the most important issues because it is an American core value which drives our country.

Equality means that every person has a fair chance in this country, everyone gets the same rights and opportunities. Without equality it can be argued that many negative things could happen. Without equality there is bound to be oppression. If there is no equality or if there is oppression then we are going against our Declaration of Independence. The issue however is how do we create equality, what laws must be passed in order to make all people equal? I think that may be the wrong way to go about it. Regardless of what seemingly airtight laws we create people will still treat others unfairly. I don’t know if we can force people to treat each other the right way. I think that we as a people need to come to a mutual understanding and respect for each other in order to have real equality. There needs to be environments where tolerance is taught, respect is taught, maybe even love. Fredrick Douglass said, “where ignorance prevails and any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” If knowledge kills ignorance and getting rid of ignorance is the start to equality then maybe education is where the real push for equality should start. Above all else we need equality first before we worry about any other issue.