The term “equity” has been bandied about by the left as the new version of equality.
A basic definition of equality is a system that provides the same opportunities to everyone, irrespective of race, sex, religion, etc. Simply put, it means that we have the right to use our God-given talents to aspire to the goals we seek to achieve. If you have the intellect, the physical requirements, and the motivation to succeed in any endeavor, you will have the same opportunities as anyone else. Equity, on the other hand, refers to equality of outcome, notwithstanding the ability, perseverance, and hard work put to the task by each individual.
Therefore, if student A takes his studies seriously and puts in several hours a day to excel, while student B enjoys watching movies on Netflix and hanging out at the local gym, that should not mean that A deserves higher grades than B. In the left-wing world of socialist dogma, no one has the right to achieve more than anyone else. With that in mind, A has no incentive to work harder than B. Without a carrot at the end of the stick, there’s no motivation to go forward. The result is the dumbing down of the education system, and with it, the ultimate destruction of our culture. The blame game allows lazy people to point their accusatory finger at the most industrious in their orbit and claim there’s something wrong with a system that doesn’t reward winners and losers equally.
We find ourselves being chastised by radical groups who allege racism whenever a company, a school, a movie, or a neighborhood is not “balanced” with a percentage of non-white personnel. Using that logic, every professional basketball team in the country should cut about 80% of their hoopsters and replace them with whites or Asians, inasmuch as blacks represent only about 15% of the country’s population. We can analyze all other sports, too, eliminating the disparate and “unfair” mixture of the races. Hockey, primarily played by white athletes, should ensure that at least 15% of its players are black or Asian.
In academia, the snowflakes on the left tell us that our universities are fundamentally racist since, proportionally, more Asians and whites in Ivy League colleges earn academic degrees than their black counterparts. A few minutes of research would reveal that Asians are discriminated against because of their academic prowess. One national study of the college experience indicated that a student who identifies as Asian will need 140 SAT points higher than whites, 320 points higher than Hispanics, and 450 points higher than blacks in order to gain admission to many institutes of higher learning. It seems to me that these learning centers are building a system in which the best and the brightest should feel embarrassed by their superiority in their respective endeavors and struggle toward mediocrity.
At Virginia’s historically prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, notifications to students who earned National Merit awards were delayed, preventing recipients from adding the awards to their early-admission college applications. Evidently, some school personnel didn’t want to hurt the feelings of those students who didn’t make the list.
The truth is, equity theory, like Critical Race Theory, is merely another wedge issue used by the left to divide and conquer the greatest country in the world. CRT is telling white kids they are manifestly racist and should spend their lives in shame-filled contrition for the sins of people who lived hundreds of years ago. Meanwhile, we dare not try to shame blacks for their role in the way-out-of-proportion crime rate in our country. The fact that more than 50% of violent crime is committed by blacks is one of those statistics that the left refuses to address. Moreover, anyone with the temerity to mention it will suddenly be bombarded with charges of racism and white supremacy, in addition to being harassed at work or home.
We live in a merit-based system that is designed to reward the highest achievers by paying them more, and honoring them more, than those who are less productive. That’s why LeBron James can earn about $50 million annually, with a net worth of more than a billion dollars, for his skill in stuffing a round ball in a metal rim more often than other players in the league. If you’re a gifted athlete, you can make it on a professional sports team and become a millionaire. Yet how is that fair to all the other athletes who aren’t as qualified?
This guilt trip, being used by the radical left, is a con game to make you feel culpable for having a strong work ethic. It’s Socialism 101.
