Why “Fairness” is a Fairy Tale

Only the woke left could view equality as inequitable

Let me be the first to say that I have absolutely no idea how life operates. I’ve known total idiots - folks who can barely tie their own shoes and think dogfood is made from dogs - who are rich as hell. I’ve known incredibly talented people, some with vast education and ability, who stock the shelves at Walmart with gerbil food and personal, adult-undergarments. Life rarely makes sense, and it is even more rarely equitable.

Frankly, much of a person’s lot in life has to do with pure, dumb luck. While ability and brains may be an important and contributing element, all the competence and ambition in the world will get you nowhere without that accident of birth, fortunate break, surprise occurrence, or the unexpected notice of a highly placed person of power who decides to offer a chance.

That’s just life. I’ve seen this phenomenon too many times, both in the positive and negative sense, and in too many locales, to ever believe otherwise. I admit there may be exceptions to the rule, but they are scarce as hen’s teeth.

And so . . . let’s put an end once and for all to that age-old whine that “life’s not fair.” Of course it’s not fair; I think I knew that before I was six. Moreover, it can’t be made fair. Equality of opportunity is a lofty and admirable goal, but the idea of enforced equity (despite what the politicians, activists, influencers, and social workers would have you believe) is a joke and a lie, nothing but grifter propaganda of the first order.

Sometimes opportunity kicks open the door and sits down for supper, picking its teeth, and belching profusely. Sometimes it stays home watching re-runs of Gomer Pyle, slurping margaritas, and scratching itself. All men may be created equal, but equality pretty much ends at conception. After that, you’re on your own.

As for state-imposed “equity” . . . that’s nothing but a Marxist deception

If you can somehow manage to accept that the hand of fate is usually attached to the arm of a card shark, you can dispense with this fair/not fair nonsense and realize that you probably won’t win the lottery, pen a best-seller, or enjoy Margot Robbie’s undying affection after rescuing her from a burning building. This is not to say that such things won’t happen; the laws of statistical coincidence state that at some time or another - in one form or another - they might.

They’ll just happen to someone else . . . which is why all the left-wing screaming about “equity” – assured outcome for all regardless of whether or not it’s deserved – is a particularly galling and ludicrous concept.

If that strikes you as a somewhat gloomy world-view, then please prepare to admit your premature excogitation. The trick to having a good ride lies not in contemplating the agonies of a life lived in the perpetual rut of mediocrity. Rather, it consists of constructing your own definition of success, failure, ambition, and luck. The definitions are intrinsic, and if you believe them truly, they stand invulnerable to the slings, arrows, attitudes, and opinions of both society and dissenting individuals.

You see . . . life is not only a game, it’s your game. Play it as you will, and make your own rules. The rules of others do not apply.

A person can re-invent themselves in myriad forms. Hell...I’ve done it at least four or five times, and may do so again before the time-clock hits zero. Here’s why.

That which gives you goose bumps today may leave you flatter than a flitter tomorrow. Life is many things, but it’s only static if you so wish it to be. There may be aspects of your life you do not enjoy - aspects that are unpleasant and unavoidable due to circumstance and necessity - but keep in mind that these things are not the end all/be all of one’s existence. They are only tasks that must be endured and completed before you get back to living.

The point is this. To live, and live with joy, you have to have something (or several somethings) that trip your trigger. As an old friend, now long gone, once told me, “you have to have something to believe in, you have to have something to look forward to, you have to have something to love.” If I did needlepoint I’d put that on my wall, for it is both powerful and true. What it means, I think, is that effort, anticipation, and expectation are at least as important as results.

I’ll use myself as an example, partly because I can’t think of another one right now, and partly because it applies quite well. I rarely have made much money from any of the various hair-brained schemes I’ve hatched over the years, but I near always got a jolt from each new thought, scam, scheme, or project. I will likely never achieve widespread fame or fortune (because at this point, I’m older than dirt) but it is the novelty – embarking on a strange or newly discovered path – that makes me happy.

And it’s the same no matter if you are a doctor, lawyer, butcher, baker, or dynamite maker. It’s not what you get for what you do that’s important, it’s that you love what you do for its own sake.

Nothing in life is fair - such is a given - but the smiling ones realize that everything in life is fair game.