Equality vs. Equity

The conversation is changing in 2020 ...

In a search on this topic, this image is almost universal.

When this topic started to peak my interest, I thought it a simple difference in definitions. But it isn't. It's a huge topic, one more prevalent in today's society than I even began to imagine. For a long time, there was a difference in what people were actually referring to when they spoke about equality, discrimination, and racism in this country.  The difference could be due to context of a conversation, or just simply interpretation of the laws of the country as we currently know them.

Is our society striving for equality? Do our laws provide for equity? It depends on who you talk to, right? Why?

Pilgrims vs. Conquerors

Were the first people to settle in the New World of America conquerors? Did they come to overrun the people they found there? Or did they come for a more personal reason? 

Did the indigenous people of this new land become the only reason America survived as we know it today? Was there nothing that the settlers could do on their own?

Rights vs. Liberties (Civil)

Many a heated conversation has occurred talking about civil rights in the USA. But are we talking about rights or freedoms/liberties? What is the difference? Why do people think they have a right to any one thing? Do rights change? Inalienable rights? Is our perception of reality so bad that we have to change it as time goes on? Are we really seeing something new - something that no society has ever seen before, dealt with before?

How does liberty - in the form of liberties - fit into or with the rights that we have? What are the similarities that cause us to hear one over the other so often? What are the differences; why are they being overshadowed?

Climate ... something

Well, isn't this fun?  For anyone who's been around for any length of time, we know that topic of our environmental status has been debated, changed, manipulated, and lied about for decades.

First in my lifetime was a looming ice age. (More on that later.) Then, a mere 20 or so years later, it was Global Warming.  When a 7-year trend of cooling occurred, though, the narrative had to be changed.  So, the never-wrong phrase of "Climate Change" became the mantra.

What does that mean? And why is it a bad thing? 

Autonomy vs. liberty

When most people think about liberty, they actually think freedom.  And while those two words are used interchangeably, there is some merit to the comparison of autonomy and liberty. 

For what is autonomy? What does it mean for us as individual people? How does this reflect upon our own liberty? What liberty do we have as individual people?  And does it mean we have the necessary autonomy to carry out what we need to do?

Diversity vs. Diversify

A big push in today's society is the "need for diversity." Different people from different groups use this in different ways, many of them a bit deceiving in or because of their motives.

I pose that the real need in many cases is actually the need to diversify.   For the two words, while are nearly identical given the complexities of the English language, are very different in their application.  So, why does that impact what we do as a society?

Sticks and Stones ... Sticks and Stones

Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

 ... or is it names? Whichever.

If you're as old as I am, you may remember saying this phrase time and again.  A defense against teasing.  Or maybe you've said it to your kids to try and teach them about teasing.

But - do we think about what it means?