Equality: Don’t Over-analyze It. Simplify It, and Do It.

Holy Cow! Gender is so difficult, race issues are so sensitive…

We can talk about misogyny, homophobia, racism, and more until the cows come home. But what if we instead, look at those cows?

I am going to use cows as a sort of metaphor here, but make no mistake the suffering of cows on a heating, deforested, planet is literal, too.

Cows means biologically female animal that we domesticate to get dairy and beef from. Cows are an exploited resource so that we can gripe about the soft serve machine at McDonald’s always being on the fritz.

I haven’t eaten there since childhood, but I assume there is still some dairy?

Anyway, cows are not seen as full, living, functioning organisms. They are used as a kind of tool. We can look at how we view gender and race as tools too. That is because these days, when people begin to talk about LBGTQ+, or identity politics, or the abuses of wokeness, or cancel culture, they are using the terms of those “beings” as a kind of tool to beat their ideological opponents with, rather then speaking of actual, individual persons.

The greatest good for the highest number

When ever you hear people speak disparagingly about quotas, or special freedoms, or affirmative action, or losing family values, they are not speaking about people they know and love — many of whom are upon wide spectrums of identity — they are speaking about “them.”

Enter the concept of compassion. The simple way to understand and empathize with others is to see them. To see, and perceive, their suffering.

This is true of cows. We don’t see them because it would be too uncomfortable to carry awareness of what makes a hamburger, or a milkshake. There is a reason why we hide certain things from ourselves.

It is slightly different with human beings, however. We have no choice but to live among, work with, cooperate with, commerce with, and usually have extended family with, a diversity of people.

The greater good for the whole society only happens when we offer good treatment for a whole individual.

The moral you know

Look through the lens of caring what others feel and experience. Then, you can get it right. We don’t get it right every time, but we can begin to genuinely show others that we know that they have gone through some stuff we can never know.

To feel pain is a universal human experience. They say suffering is optional, but all too often it depends upon what is meant by suffering. To simplify it, just think about what it feels like to be alienated, hurt, or ignored.

As social beings, we need integration. We need one another. We need to see our own reflection when we think of people, of our human tribe.

Maybe only then can we become more functionally aware of all the other beings in the world that make us fully connected as a world.

In view of this, it is wise to consider not whether a fellow human is right or wrong, moral or immoral, but whether they can feel pain.

This is the practical world view of Jeremy Bentham, but also offers the wisdom of Albert Einstein and Nicola Tesla, among others. (no dummies)

When you simplify the complex issues, you no longer have to argue your position until the cows come home.

When we expand our circle of compassion to include one another, living organisms, the biosphere, and our wholly inter-dependent systems, we can weave a much tighter, stronger social fabric that is not as prone to being shredded so easily.

But, what about those cows?

Then, collaborating together as equals, we can address the suffering of those cows and innovate for less habitat destruction, cultured meat, healthier diets, and a continually improving world.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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