We're taught to treat others as we want to be treated. We have rules that govern society, roles that keep us in our places. But these are hardly natural. It's our own system, and most of us recognise fairness as a value worth maintaining.
Look at economics. We work hard to earn a living (yes, that's what we call our lives...earning a living!)so that we can pay money to get something we want. Is it fair? Sometimes we think it is. Sometimes when we think it isn't we say we've been 'ripped-off'.
Economics is another system which has fairness as a kind've premise. We think it's fair, but just because we all participate in it doesn't make it so. We think it's fair, but when our credit card debt (based on the idea of interest...which is not essential to economics, the amount of it fairly arbitrary in the beginning)or home require a slavish existence to pay it off...well, it may not seem fair. What about insurance. We pay the insurance company, and once we make our claims, they find ways to not pay us back. If they are good at not paying claims, in other words, if they are able to 'legally' worm themselves out of possible obligations, they become more profitable.
You've been paying insurance on your car for 4 years, but you missed the last payment. You've just backed up into another car and you hear that sickening crunch, and tinkle of broken glass on the tar. This is going to come out of your pocket.
The rich get richer and poor get poorer. Is that fair?
Is it fair when any creature dies young, when children die before their parents, or people die in apparently random fashion, in tidal waves, car accidents or lightning storms? Is that fair?
At school we get rewarded for good work with stickers or praise or high marks. In sport we get medals, our performance is timed and watched. At home our parents reward good behaviour with icecreams or extra TV Time or promises of certain toys for birthdays or Christmas. If you do this, that will happen. If we're Chritians or Muslim the idea that Life Is Fair is perpetuated in the idea that there is Justice. The good go to heaven, the bad go to hell and are punished.
This framework may make a lot of sense, except real life is not fair, hard work is not always rewarded, and the best man does not always win, or win fair lady. Not Fair is everywhere. One person is faithful but the other isn't. People get divorced because life isn't fair. People quit their jobs because life isn't fair. People get a good education but can't find work. I didn't get paid today, despite working the requisite hours. It doesn't seem fair. Maybe I am a good person, maybe I'm not. The world will judge you and I based on how we look, our status compared to them (and status is a measure of our wealth, our job, our race, age, sex and son on). Is this fair?
It's good to remind ourselves that life is a series of problems, and life is difficult. It's a great truth because once we accept it, we can moanh about them or solve them. It's the sign of Higher Consciuousness, of a Stronger and More Successful Person who doesn't wonder why things happen. They wonder how to make the most of them.
So the first thing to remember is life is hard. That means it's not easy. If it is, watch out because it probably means you're in the easy chair and not seeing what's coming.
I recently read about the ill effects of work on Americans health. Most Americans are overworked, feeling they don't have time to find solutions, and aren't able to solve all their problems because they are interrupted with new ones. Consequently some even pass up their vacations, so they can catch up with their workloads.
In a world governed by appearances, and consumption (aka working to buy things as a way of life), there's not enough time (for many of us) for fun.
And life is not only hard. It's not fair. After all, even if we manage to survive all the stuff that goes on, we die anyway. Our reward for surviving the dangers of life? Our bodies give out anyway, and perhaps our minds even before that.
Today I watched Stage 6 of the Tour De France. I saw a frenchman break away on a long stage, around 200km, at 23km. 5 riders joined him, and this small group worked together for about 150km, until all of them fell away on the long climb just outside Nancy. Because Christophe Mengin's home is about 20km from the finish line, this is where he will have ddone a lot of training. Since the Tour was coming through here, and he knew the area so well, and he was moving through local support and hometown fans, his desire to win was riding high. He knew exactly what he was doing, knew where the downhills were, and the sharp bends. The roads were wet and slick, which made it harder for the chasing pack to catch him.
He held off the peloton all the way to the finishing straight and then crashed on the final sharp right hand turn of the stage )with just 700m remaining. He was in a winning position but the wet road caused him to crash. How is that for unfair? Racing beautifully off the front of the peloton, holding them off for about 180km, only to fall in the last less than 1 km.
This stuff happens.
What about two riders (see the picture above) who basically touch the finish line at exactly the same time. One is made the winner. I'm sure that seems fgair to him, but what about the other guy.
The answer is not to dwell on whether it is fair or not. It's to realise that life is hard and not fair. Once that's internalised, you begin with the work and preparation to absorb all the knocks and disappointments that will visit us on Life's Road. The harder we work, and the more disciplined we are, and the better our sense of humor and sense of the world, the better that road will be.
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