Should all people be seen as equal under the law does this compromise our freedom in any way?

Question

Shouldn't all people rich,poor, middle class, Latino, White, Gay, Straight, African America, Asian, Native American, Arab, man, woman be treated equally and have all of the same opportunities and rights under the law? Explain to me how giving people equal oppurtunity under the law compromises our freedoms.

Grips because otherwise would people hire minorities?

Answer 1

There's nothing wrong with equal opportunity, but equal opportunity does not guarantee equal outcome. If someone doesn't get a job simply because of his/her race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., that's wrong. However, it is equally wrong for someone to play the race/gender/sexual orientation card whenever they don't get what they want or something "bad" happens to them. I spent three years in Texas assisting a Federal Labor Law attorney, and during that period we handled over 80 cases involving allegations of discrimination by race or gender. Care to guess how many of them were found to have merit? ZERO. Yes, giving all people an equal opportunity is the right thing to do, but don't turn a blind eye to the abuses of the system by people in "minority" groups who cry foul for no other reason than they know they can. BOTTOM LINE: It's wrong to discriminate against someone solely on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, status, etc., but it's also wrong to give special treatment to someone on the same basis. The best person for the job should get it, and employers should not be presumed to be guilty of discrimination until proven innocent just because someone has an axe to grind.

Answer 2

Equal treatment under the law is essential to protecting individual freedom, of course.

But, equal treatment under the law is /not/ equal opportunity. For instance, a person from a wealthy family will have greater opportunity than one from a poor family - access to better education, for instance. If you want the government to step in and equalize thier opportunities, by giving the poor kid the same education as the rich kid, for instance, you are no longer treating them equally, you are treating one preferencially.

Of course, the rich kid might still have more opportunities in the job market, perhaps due to family connections, or some stigma the poor kid faces as the result of his family background. You could have the government step in and assure equal opportunity in employment, too, requiring employers to hire the poor kid in preference to the rich one if all other qualifications are equal. That would be infringing on the freedom of said employers, in addition to treating the two kids differently under the law.

That's just a couple of simplistic examples, but, when you pull together all the programs and all the criteria by which a government could address various real and percieved inequities of opportunity, I don't see how you'd avoid stepping on some individual rights and freedoms along the way.

Answer 3

I agree that people should have equal opportunity based on their qualifications for a job - getting a job should not be based on anything other than who is best suited for the job. I don't see this as a compromise to freedom.
People should be treated equally under the law unless they choose to give up some of their opportunities by breaking the law.

Answer 4

Well, don't the two go hand in hand? Freedom and equality?

If I were poor, and I knew that I did not have (theoretically) equal treatment under the law, then I would say I am not as free as I would be WITH the guarentee of equality.

No. Treating all persons equally under the law does NOT compromise our freedom in anyway.

I would love to hear how treating all persons equally actually DOES compromise any freedoms.

I guess you might have to define freedom first.

Answer 5

Do I keep in mind that Mccain supported amnesty approximately 2 years in the past it become stated as the McCain/ Fineman bill at that element yet gauged by way of the size of the question i think of you basically talk and do certainly no longer pay attention or undergo in techniques issues which at the instant are not appealing

Answer 6

People should be seen as equal under the law, but where you get your problem is with set-aside. For example, some colleges require a certain number of minorities in each entering class------no matter who is the best qualified to be in that class. Heck, in some schools grades are even "curved" based upon race and sex. A certain number of government contracts are set aside for minorities and women owned businesses-----no matter what business is the best qualified to perform the work. That's where your problem comes in, when government tries to "level the playing field".

If everybody was equal, it wouldn't matter what your race, sex, etc is, what would matter was who is the most qualified.

Lindsey G------I just answered your question, "Should all people be seen as equal......". Yes they should. Even the white, hetero-sexual men.

Answer 7

All American Citizens are by law granted protection from discrimination.Don't confuse opportunity with ability.
Example:
poor Latino with no university degree should by hired before a White Harvard M.B.A. degree holder for a position with an investment bank?Don't think so.
For the most part( I KNOW THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS!!! DON"T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THE THUMBS DOWN RATINGS)Americans have access to good education facilities and the chance to succeed in life.whether by poor choices or just bad Karma,some in society will never gain the success in life that they are truly capable of.It's life.Sometimes it isn't fair.

Answer 8

It takes away the freedom to discriminate and for the regressive right that's a problem,always been.

Freedom and equality are not contradictory. Equality is the condition for the development of individual personality. Equality and personal freedom are indivisible.

Answer 9

All people should not be seen as equal, they ARE equal, at least until they do something that proves they don't deserve to be treated as equal.

Answer 10

yeah,we should all be considered equal, it gives everyone a chance, whethter or not they take it. how could it compromise anybody's freedom. i thought we all were anyway.