All's Fair
Jimmy had everything you could ever want. Photographs from around the world dotted his bedroom walls and provided proof of all of the fantastic sites he had been. He had posed with statues that guarded the entrances to world-class art museums. Views from the summits of the tallest mountains placed him at the top of the world. The images of colorful and exotic animals from every continent but Antarctica displayed the wonders and beauty of this expansive orb. Jimmy really had it all.
Tommy had never sent a text, played an app or used a cell phone to make a simple phone call. He had used the computers at school and the library, but none of his friends had cell phones. When he logged onto the internet his time was limited so he didn't even travel vicariously to the places that Jimmy went in reality. When Tommy finished his classes he would return to a sparsely furnished home and three younger siblings to tend. When he had the chance he would mow a lawn and do simple yard work to earn a little bit of spending money, but once he earned the cash, he would spend very little and save the rest.
If Jimmy and Tommy ever met they wouldn't know it because their worlds never really crossed. Even when they happened to be in the same place at the same time their worlds were completely different. At most they might wonder about the life of the other. Tommy would imagine the carefree lifestyles of the rich and famous while Jimmy would wonder how people can survive with essentially nothing. But these questions merely flitted through their young minds without any substantial thought to their meaning.
But we might look at this situation and see some inherent unfairness. Why should one boy have so much while another seemed to labor so hard for so little? Others would see their respective situations as the natural outcome of consequences from actions made by each boy, their parents and their ancestors. The differences in their lifestyles are simply the results of all the actions that came before. Many would see these differences as core examples of the injustice of the world where the inequalities between us divide us into the opposing camps of the haves and the have nots.
Yet long experience shows that there are those in Jimmy's camp who feel miserable because of the things they do not yet have while there are those in Tommy's camp who celebrate their daily lives and rejoice in what they do and who they are instead of what they own. There are certainly those in Tommy's camp who envy those in Jimmy's world because of the discrepancies in their wealth. There are others in both camps who use all that they have to meet their own immediate needs but then willingly share the excess with others.
With all these viewpoints, it seems that life is as fair as you want it to be.
Tommy had never sent a text, played an app or used a cell phone to make a simple phone call. He had used the computers at school and the library, but none of his friends had cell phones. When he logged onto the internet his time was limited so he didn't even travel vicariously to the places that Jimmy went in reality. When Tommy finished his classes he would return to a sparsely furnished home and three younger siblings to tend. When he had the chance he would mow a lawn and do simple yard work to earn a little bit of spending money, but once he earned the cash, he would spend very little and save the rest.
If Jimmy and Tommy ever met they wouldn't know it because their worlds never really crossed. Even when they happened to be in the same place at the same time their worlds were completely different. At most they might wonder about the life of the other. Tommy would imagine the carefree lifestyles of the rich and famous while Jimmy would wonder how people can survive with essentially nothing. But these questions merely flitted through their young minds without any substantial thought to their meaning.
But we might look at this situation and see some inherent unfairness. Why should one boy have so much while another seemed to labor so hard for so little? Others would see their respective situations as the natural outcome of consequences from actions made by each boy, their parents and their ancestors. The differences in their lifestyles are simply the results of all the actions that came before. Many would see these differences as core examples of the injustice of the world where the inequalities between us divide us into the opposing camps of the haves and the have nots.
Yet long experience shows that there are those in Jimmy's camp who feel miserable because of the things they do not yet have while there are those in Tommy's camp who celebrate their daily lives and rejoice in what they do and who they are instead of what they own. There are certainly those in Tommy's camp who envy those in Jimmy's world because of the discrepancies in their wealth. There are others in both camps who use all that they have to meet their own immediate needs but then willingly share the excess with others.
With all these viewpoints, it seems that life is as fair as you want it to be.
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