Divided We Fall

By Lynn Costello

There is a prevailing political ideology which for decades has defined each of us by our differences with the goal of eventually achieving “social justice” for all.   The specificity of these differences has resulted in categories that become almost multiple-choice.  Where does a black, gay woman fit into these groupings?

When the 2010 census asked people to classify themselves by race, more than 21.7 million went beyond the standard labels and wrote their own definition.  More than three million write-ins came from white and black Americans who found the standard race categories insufficient. 

Nor is it just race or ethnicity - we also define ourselves by gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and the haves versus the have-nots. Once divided, the battle begins as opportunistic politicians pit one group against another. Government aid is used to assist one group over another, hate crimes are written to protect one group over another and quotas are established to favor one group over another.

French economist Frederic Bastiat, wrote that “law is justice” and that justice is achieved when injustice is prevented.  Is it just to bring favor to one and not another?  If justice is blind, shouldn’t we all be “seen” as individuals each created equal?  After all, united we stand; divided we fall.