We see it all the time, calls of discrimination. Certain groups, organizations and classes especially use this word excessively. Discrimination is used so excessively that it has lost its' true meaning. In political circles and discussion, discrimination is used as leverage in discussion, especially against those on the Right. Discrimination affects everyone in their daily lives; it is not one class, race, religion, or sex that is affected.
Discrimination, as defined by Merriam-Webster is:
: the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people: the ability to recognize the difference between things that are of good quality and those that are not: the ability to understand that one thing is different from another thing
In reality, everyone is treated unfairly or differently in some way in our country. There are 314 million individuals, all different, who are discriminated against in their own way.
First and foremost, it must be understood that we are a nation of discriminatory laws. Each law we have enacted, discriminates against some person in our country. Laws are made to protect us from each other, however, in doing so create a maze of discrimination.
For example, tax laws are complex and affect everyone differently. Based on socioeconomic status, we are taxed at different rates, with varying deductions, credits, and so forth. In general, if you are deemed high income, you pay a larger percentage than those with low incomes. Is this not discrimination against high income earners? After all, they are being singled out for their income. Sure, the argument can be made about the fairness of this practice. But, who decides what fair is? This is up to people's interpretation and personal discriminatory belief systems.
Laws have been enacted to discourage discrimination based upon race over the years. These laws cause more discrimination through, again, judgement of what is discrimination. These laws, much more needed in the past, created a safety net that protected individuals in the workplace. Over time, these laws now protect minorities from poor performance at work. Companies have become so scared of lawsuits, based on discrimination laws, they can hardly release a minority for job performance. A protected race could claim discrimination, based on their race, rather than performance. Is it not discriminatory to hold others to higher standards because they are not of a specific race? That being said, there is no doubt that racism (a form of discrimination) does exist. But, even this is debatable as to whom are racists. As I discussed in Is Racism Only a White Phenomenon?, racism exists across all races.
One of the founding principles of our nation was, and still is, freedom of religion. Discrimination, based on religion, is also protected under the law. As a nation of many religions, our system of laws cannot help but discriminate against people for their religious beliefs. One of the most prominent questions surrounding the ACA is a conflict between sexism and religious freedom. The conflict arises out of the requirement that all plans must provide birth control for women, however, this conflicts with the Catholic belief system which opposes birth control. This conflict will have to be resolved by the Supreme Court in the future.
While the left seeks to resolve discrimination through law; the right seeks to resolve to discrimination through knowledge and understanding. The right understands that, no matter the amount of laws enacted, discrimination will be inherited through those laws. It is because of this, we do not support law as a way to resolve discrimination; it only adds to the discrimination that is already at issue. It is interpreted, by the left, that the right does not care about discrimination, which couldn't be further from the truth. The law, in our eyes, should look at everyone regardless of their traits or beliefs on an equal level. No one should be treated better or worse based upon the laws of the land.
Cries of discrimination are commonplace now, lessening true discrimination for lesser and sometimes, pointless discrimination suits being filed. It is this over use and abuse of the word that has made discrimination as convoluted as our tax law.
Political discourse has dumbed itself down to the point where people are randomly called all sorts of -ists without recourse or reason. If you oppose Obama's policies, you are deemed a racist. Oppose gay marriage, you are called homophobic; believe women should pass the same test to become a firefighter as men, you are sexist. The list goes on and on. And, because of this, it is hard to take anyone serious when these accusations are thrown out.
At some point, or numerous times, everyone is discriminated against. It may be a person, the law, or accusation without cause. The overuse and abuse have lost the meaning of true discrimination. Instead, we are stuck with an unending list of supposed discrimination. Discrimination is real, it affects everyone, and it will continue until we move away from legislating it and teaching respect for one another.
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