Something or Other Special: Difference

Day 1,718, 19:05 • Published in Canada Canada • by Corrigan Brown

Hey all 14 of you.

We encounter difference in every time, place or situation that we have ever existed in, these differences can be as simple as what color car you drive as opposed to the driver opposite you in the parking lot, or what color hair you have as opposed to the person directly in front of you in line at the cash register. We only ever notice difference when something in our head clicks, that something tells us this difference is not natural and we should be scared of it, humans are built with this little memory chip (if you will) of wrong differences that we all know we should avoid. Human nature is such that we are all prejudice about something or other be it different colored cars, hair or even something as simple as color of skin. We as people tend to be afraid of these differences and so we dislike them, turn our heads away or even condescend in public. Us Canadians think that we are immune to such things because of the place we live, and don't get me wrong Canada is better than most due to the fact that we have much less people living amongst us, most of us are immigrants and therefore we create for ourselves a diverse environment in which tolerance and acceptance are a necessity to survive.

Because of this, fairness and equality are brought into the picture. These terms may both mean the same thing, but in principle they are very different. One could even endeavor so far as to say that they are opposites, let me explain. Let's take communism for example. Communism dictate that because all people get an equal share of everything, it is fair. Equality mean everybody is the same, be it rights, freedoms, etc. and fairness is fairly misunderstood when put into context with equality. Fairness means everybody gets what they need. So when brought into context with difference, fairness and equality can play a very strong role in how these different people are treated. Canada tries it's best to maintain a non-biased stance when it comes to equality because in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms it says that all Canadians should be equal in Rights and Freedoms, this goes for brand new Canadians as well. Therefore we give support to immigrants because it is what they need, and this is fair. Some 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. generation Canadians bitch and moan when they see the money going to these people because their brain tells them that because these people are different, they are in the wrong and shouldn't be receiving support. It is these differences that separate us and bind us together, as well as dividing the line between equal and fair.

So how does this relate to Erepublik? This country is filled with many different people of many different beliefs, different political views and so on. While generally we are respectable about it, there are still those that persecute people because of their differences. For instance, I am a libertarian and therefore am opposed to the MDP (and other associated parties, but I still respect our difference in opinion and their right to free speech. I wouldn't try to suppress them just because of our differences, i accept them for what they are and try to make the most of it.

So now i call on all eCanadians, next time you are about to all caps RAGE on a person who is different, think about how you would feel if the roles were reversed.

Good luck to the running presidents in the race.

I will be away on vacation so there will be no articles for the next 6 days. I will resume again on August 12th

See you then!