Closing Pandora's Box

I am sorry but what evidence do you have to prove that all of us are created equally? There is no evidence whatsoever. But there is evidence that we are NOT created equally.
Some people are born with inherent diseases. Some people are born with inherent qualities and they always outperform you, whether it be academics and sports (I am jealous of them). Why such injustices on those who were born (un) equal.
Evolution does not give us equality. Evolution has made all of us unequal in one way or another. Us trying to harp about "equality" is only damaging to our evolution as an animal species.
Inequality is the sole reason why there is diversity in life. Some are strong, some are weak, some are white, some are black, some have blue eyes, others have brown. Yet all of these traits have benefits. Blue eyes for example are interpreted as sign of beauty and good genes and this increases the sexual selection pressures on the female possessing blue eyes and increases her chances of attracting a genetically fit male and hence a fit progeny. What was the fault of the woman with brown eyes?
I can go on and on.

The above was a comment by the user doomedlions left on my post introducing the guest post series regarding women rights and equality. I wish to reply to some of the issues and questions raised.

When was young I remember my dad bought me a puzzles book full of word searches, cross words, number puzzles and mazes of all shapes and sizes. As well as this there were many spot the difference pictures where you would be presented very similar pictures and would have to spot subtle differences between the two. Being the little Sherlock Holmes that I was (only on Thursdays as I took on other roles on the other days of the week including, doctor, train driver, bike racer and tree) I would spend my Thursday evenings after school, magnifying glass in hand, trying to solve them. In nature itself, we notice that humans who are so similar in so many ways are also so very different. Between animals of the same species, plants and trees, you name it, there’s bound to be differences. Identical twins, who arise from the same fertilised egg and thus are genetically identical can be un-identical depending on the environment in which they are bought up.

If you put 2 people of different sexes, ethnicity or developmental stage in front of a young child, they will easily tell you the differences between them. It’s not rocket science. The user above wrote “we are NOT created equally” and I concur. No we are not. But that is elemental observation to make. When the phrase “We were created equal” is used, the wisdom behind it does not apply to physical aspects of a person regarding their gender, health, strength, eye colour, height or capabilities. Instead, it alludes to the fact despite our differences from one another we all deserve equal rights and not be recipients of discrimination and or persecution as a result of those differences. There are countless examples one could use to explain this point, but seeing as it will soon be happening in the UK, I’d like to mention the Olympics and Paralympics. Disabled people have an equal right to enjoy and compete in sporting events as do non-disabled people do. 

*****

Starting this Friday I shall being posting the Guest Posts I have received in this regard. I would like to thank each and every person who took time out to write a piece. Though you may not agree with some of the points raised by the authors, I am sure you will concur however that each one is extremely well written, thought provoking and enlightening.

Please Note: The views and or opinions expressed within the guests are solely of the respective authors and are not necessarily my own.

*****

Seeing as it is also the beginning of a new year, I’d like to send you all my warmest regards and I hope and pray that during this new year you see happiness, love and joy. May it be productive, rewarding, successful and peaceful for you all.

_________________________________

Title: And Justice for all – Metallica

I have a few friends who don’t understand my obsession for football. This video is for you:

In soccer (football) you have everything in life…
you need to give, you need to receive
you need team spirit, discipline…
sportsmanship.
Sometimes you win…
Sometimes you lose.
This is the way you win in life.

Because football isn’t all THAT bad.

Sorry I’ve not commented on your blogs recently. I’ve been keeping up with all of them on my phone, but haven’t had a chance to log into blogger on the computer. Will visit your comment dabaa soon!

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend. Stay smiling.

_________________________________

Title: Wavin’ Flag – K’NAAN

When I got a new phone, I got one with a decent camera for a particular reason. Simply so that I could take more pictures. I’ve decided each week I’ll share a photograph with you.

***

I saw this written on the wall of the train today:

_________________________________

Title: Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford

We’ve had countless boiler problems this year. Every few months something seems to happen. It sprouts a leak, starts letting out gas, making weird and un-boiler-like noises or just not getting turned on when I try to press its buttons. Last week it started drooling all over the floor and the pressure inside would rapidly drop and so prolonged use of hot water (in a bath or shower) would mean you’d have to do some fancy stuff to it to make the hot water come back. This was annoying, since I take my time whenever I have a bath or shower. So much so one of my friends always say “see you next week..” every time I text her, “I’ll text you later, about to jump into the bath/shower.” A few days subsequent to this, the boiler spluttered its last few breaths and stopped working all together. 3 days without hot water and heating.

It is not very often we consider boilers to be of value in our lives. Even when we talk about the things that we take for granted, how often do you hear anyone mention their boiler? I guess it’s like that clichéd line goes “you don’t realise the value of something till it’s gone…”. Said so many times, and probably experienced many more times but still it rings true. I realised the sheer importance of it when waking up for Tahajjud and Fajr (morning) prayers in the bitter cold without any hot water to wash with or heating to warm up the house with. I realised it’s importance when running late for university and jumped into the shower for a quick one only to be drenched in ice cold water. I realised the importance of it when sitting down stairs studying with frozen feet and fingers because of the cold. The water was so cold it left a burning sensation on contact with skin.

“It’s so annoying,” said  my brother one morning. “Why does this stupid thing keep messing up! I don’t wanna go to school today.”

“Think about all the people who live in icy conditions without hot water, or central heating. They only have one pan, in which to cook and in which they heat up water for a bath. Be grateful,” replied my dad.

The whole thing gave a few members of the household a really bad cold but it got me thinking. We use so many things each and every day. Many of these things we use without any thought as to their value in our lives, because they don’t seem valuable. Forget the small things, many of us are caught up in our traps that we aren’t even grateful for the big things that glare us in the face.

Say thank you to whoever you believe in, for once some of these things are gone, they may never come back. Thank God the boiler is now fixed. But more importantly thank God it was only the boiler and nothing more that messed up.

PS
This was written in a hurry so please excuse the grammar and or other mistakes.

_________________________________

Title: Autumn Days – Estelle White

We were sitting and talking, waiting for afternoon lectures to start. The Indian girls I was with were on a roll; after bitching for about half an hour they moved onto Bollywood and began re-enacting their favourite scenes. I don’t actually know why I was there because I dislike bitching and don’t watch Bollywood. I guess I was literally killing time in the most painful way possible.

The subject of the conversation turned to one particular (absent) individual and I learnt many eye opening facts about their life story. In all that time I had been yawning profusely and making funny faces at people passing by our table at the canteen so the girls looked at me, expecting some input into the discussion at hand:

It’s amazing isn’t it? People form ideas and assumptions about others really very quickly but when you actually hear their story, you have nothing to say but “oh” and wish you could take it all back.

Our eyes see only that which they are capable of seeing or that which we want them to see. That’s also why people wear lenses and glasses. It’s not the thing being looked at that is changing, but the ability of one to see that particular thing. If you stand two individuals; one with perfect vision and another who is short-sighted together at a distance of 15 metres from a sign, they’ll see different things. The sign is the the same but the images perceived are different.

It’s the same with people. What we see of others is nothing but skin and clothes, all superficial. And when seen through our eyes, they’re even more distorted.

*****

In other news, I am extremely sorry for having not posted in over a month. Though I may not have commented on your blog posts, I have regularly been visiting and read them every morning on my phone while on the train to university. The wonders of technology aye.

Lastly, you may recall my previous post was about a series of guest posts that I would like to do in the next month or so regarding the issues women face in today’s society. I have already received some excellent, though provoking and well written articles from a number of you but there are still some slots available if you wish to join the discussion as a few people have dropped out due to one reason or another. So if you wish to get involved, just let me know.

I hope and pray you are all having an excellent weekend!

Stay smiling.

This post is dedicated to Cяystal

_________________________________

Title: I need a dollar – Aloe Blacc
YouTube video: I saw on Asma Khan’s blog and as it was really pertinent to the post, decided to include it.

Everyone is created equal. Everyone is equal. Or so it’s said. A few weeks ago I came across the fact that the rates of attempted suicide are twice as high in women than in men. It got me thinking so I spoke to a friend of mine and we discussed what the reasons could be. Society, inequality, misunderstandings, misinformation, culture and men were some of the reasons we came up with. What happened to the equality?

Seeing as the vast majority of my readers are women, I decided to do a series of guest posts on this particular issue. Topics include, society coercing women into particular clothes and fashion, forced marriage, domestic violence, female circumcision, working mothers and many more. Hopefully these will be posted either in December or at the beginning of the next year.

If you would like to like to take part in the discussion and wish to voice your opinion about a particular topic through a post, you are more than welcome to do so. I have a few slots still available for posting. Just send me an email (nasdotcom@gmail.com) or contact me on twitter (@nasdotcom) and we can discuss it there.

I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women, be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

[This is a scheduled post]

_________________________________

Title: Keep ya head up – 2Pac
Photo of crying lady taken from here

I read a book not too long ago and a particular scene regarding things really caught my attention and got me thinking.

“Almost everyone to whom I introduced Jennifer remarked on how self-possessed she appeared for one who had experienced so much tragedy. Indeed, she did have a remarkably assured manner, and in particular a capacity to make light of setbacks which might have brought other girls her age to tears. A good example of this was her reaction concerning her trunk.”

The girl Jennifer is a young orphaned teenager who is adopted by Christopher, the I of the story. She had been waiting a very long time for her trunk containing her valuable possessions to be delivered to the UK from Canada. Christopher received a letter informing him that the trunk had been lost at sea. On informing her, she just laughed it off.

When after two or three days she had still shown no sign of distress over her loss, I felt inclined to talk with her, and one morning after breakfast, spotting her wandering about in the garden, went out to join her.

…When I stepped down on to the lawn, Jennifer was drifting about the garden with a toy horse in her hand, dreamily walking it along the tops of the hedges and bushes. I remember being rather concerned the toy might be harmed by the dew and was on the verge of pointing this out to her. But in the end, as I came up, I said simply:

“That was rotten luck about your things. You’ve taken it awfully well, but it must have been a terrible shock.”

… “It’s all right. I’m not upset. After all, they were just things. When you’ve lost your mother and your father, you can’t care so much about things, can you?” With that, she gave her little laugh.

… “You know, Jenny, I’m not sure that’s true. You might say a thing like that to a lot of people and they’d believe you. But you see, I know it’s not true. When I came from Shanghai, the things that came in my trunk, those things, they were important to me… What I’m trying to say is that for me, my trunk was special. If it got lost, I’d have been upset.”

She shrugged and put her horse up to her cheek. “I was upset. But I’m not any more. You have to look forward in life.”

Today we live in a very materialistic society. A survey of parents reported in the BBC showed that one-third of under-10s possess their own mobile phone¹. The Guardian describes it ‘a materialistic trap’². Parents are forced to work longer hours to provide money to fulfil these materialistic desires and thus spend less time with their children. The media plays a significant role in this brain washing of children making them feel they have to own a particular thing or gadget to look cool or to improve. When I was 10, I was too busy playing watching Power Rangers and re-enacting it out with my friends in the park. In this materialistic mind-trap, many people forget the value of the things that matter in life. Things can easily be replaced. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but the day after, or the day after that.

I was discussing this with my friend the General and he said, “Yes it’s true. People give preference to materialistic things. But I think sometimes some things are worth cherishing. When a person is no longer with you, sometimes all you have to remember that person is the things they left behind.”

I have a many such things, which my mum calls junk, but they hold such sentimental value I wouldn’t get rid of them for the world. Because they remind me of what once was, but could no longer be.

Do you have any such things?

_________________________________

Title: Good Riddance – Green Day
All quotes are taken from the book “When we were orphans” By Kazuo Ishiguro
¹Third of under-tens own mobiles – BBC
²UK children stuck in ‘materialistic trap’ – The Guardian