Life is not fair. People cannot make it fair, because people are not really capable of defining what fair is. If you think you are being treated fairly in life, there are surely other people who would say you are cheating someone.
When one looks at the variation of circumstances that people are born into, it seems obvious that life is not meant to be fair. We all have different problems to deal with in our lives, some of our own making, and some by circumstances beyond our control, but there is no power on this earth capable of establishing fairness. In fact probably the most unfair thing would be for everyone to be treated the same. To put the same amount of wine into a barrel that you put in a shot glass would hardly wet the bottom. What a waste it would be to put Albert Einstein or Dr. Albert Schweitzer on an assembly line.
There are rich people in every country. They are generally one of two basic types.
Type one are rich because they have found a way to produce goods or services that people want. Henry Ford or Bill Gates are examples of such, as are top movie stars. authors, many professional athletes, etc. These are the type of rich people that dominate the rich folks in this country.
Type two exist mostly in many other countries, but are becoming more and more common in the good old USA.
They are the people who are rich because they control; or have controlled, the country and its money, like the royal family of England. Or other tyrants that rule in the Middle East and other places where the people have little voice in the government. People who control the government are the last to go broke.
Only a gullible, naive and uneducated society would give power to a ruler on the promise that he will take care of them. He may to a point, but none ever has, in any way that the populous he ruled expected or deserved. It is not in our nature to settle for less than we can legally get. No baseball pitcher wants to win by just one run. He wants to pitch a shut-out. So do you. The fact that you may not have figured out how, or are too busy or lazy, to apply yourself as diligently as you might have to, in order to accomplish that, is no reason you shouldn't allow another to enjoy the fruits of doing it, if he does it honestly.
We are not all equal, except in the eyes of God. We serve ourselves best when we concentrate on our own problems, and leave others to work on theirs.
Allow me to insert another verse called "A guy's gotta do" from a little known poet of the day.
I'm prob'ly not the smartest guy
That you will ever know.
In fact you may have thought at times
That I'm a little slow.
I may not have the prowess
Of some famous athlete,
But just go stumbling though my life
A-tripping on my feet.
In actual fact of mankind's litter,
I may be the runt.
When joking of life's nitwits,
I may best befit the brunt.
I'll tell you this however,
As the winds of life blow by,
I'll squeeze out every ounce of joy
An idiot can buy.
I'll not waste any time in grief
About my lowly state,
But only work at what I can,
And that will fill my plate.
I'll focus on the things I can;
I'll give it my best try,
And drink the wine of life until
I've drained the goblet dry.
Richard Westlund is a Collins resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com
