The Present Scourge of Inequality
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”—Declaration of Independence, adopted by the United States in 1776.
“All men are born free and equal in rights.”—Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted by France’s National Assembly in 1789.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”—Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
THERE is no doubt about it. Among humans the desire for equality is universal. But sad to say, the very fact that the idea of human equality has had to be repeated so frequently proves that until now equality has eluded mankind.
Can anyone seriously argue that now at the close of the 20th century, things have changed for the better? Do all citizens of the United States and France, or those of any of the 185 members of the United Nations, really enjoy the equal rights with which they were supposedly born?
Although the idea of equality among all men may be “self-evident,” rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are far from equal for all people. For example, what equality in the right to life can we speak of when a child in Africa must share one doctor with 2,569 other people, whereas a child in Europe does so with only 289? Or what equality in rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness is there when about one third of the boys and two thirds of the girls in India will grow up illiterate, whereas in places like Japan, Germany, and Great Britain, practically every child is guaranteed an education?
Do people in Central American countries with a per capita income of $1,380 enjoy the same “dignity and rights” in life as do those in France, where the per capita income is $24,990? What equality does the African female newborn with a life expectancy of 56 years enjoy in comparison with the North American female infant with a life expectancy of 79 years?
Inequality has many faces, all of them ugly. Inequality in living standards and in opportunities for health care and education are but some of them. Sometimes political, racial, or religious differences play a decisive role in depriving people of their dignity and liberty. Despite all the talk about equality, we live in a world of inequality. Like a scourge—“a cause of widespread or great affliction,” as the word is defined—inequality sweeps across every level of human society. The pain it causes in the form of poverty, sickness, ignorance, unemployment, and discrimination stabs to the very heart.
“All men are created equal.” What a beautiful thought! How tragic that the reality is quite the opposite!
[Picture Credit Line on page 3]
UN PHOTO 152113/SHELLEY ROTNER