Equality

Like freedom, equality is a word with a meaning that is dependent on the context. People consider themselves free in all kinds of circumstances that I would find intolerable. That doesn’t make them wrong or me incorrect, just different points of view.

Equality doesn’t mean that everyone is the same, because look around. We are not the same and forced conformity is not the same as equality, at least not in my books. Now I know a lot of people who think we are free to be equal as long as we conform to their rules, their faith ideas, and their behavior standards. That doesn’t work for me either.

Equality is not about rich and poor, ability or intelligence. It is not about species and it is not about social position. It is a standard of treatment that applies to everyone. The law should apply to everyone. Same work for same pay reguardless of who does it is a good place to start.

In my NewEarth Novels, humans have a hard time treating one another with any measure of equality. Some families are treated poorly, some individuals who are kicked out of families are treated like garbage.

The dragons have a system for treating one another with a minimum of respect and acceptance. But they also have some issues with recognizing one another as equal whether because of age, differences, colors and markings, or something as superficial as visible power.

When the council makes the move to accept Heron, a human, on their council to represent other humans, it is to prevent humans from being treated as less than equal. Heron accepts because someone needs to represent the humans to the dragons and most humans are ignorant about what behaviors dragons consider acceptable.

Does the NewEarth delimna of equality apply to human issues of inequality in the real world?

That is up to readers to decide.