My friend often quotes an Urdu couplet: Ishq ki chot toh padti hi har dil pe iksaan. Zarf ke farq se avaaz badal jati hai. It means that everybody is struck by love, but depending on what stuff one is made of, one responds differently. The equality is that everyone responds to love. The diversity is that the response is not the same. However, increasingly in popular discourse, we see a wide gap between demands for equality and acceptance of diversity.

Equality is often confused with homogeneity. Everyone should feel the same level of pain and empathy and think similarly on issues. This leads to fascination with debates, which has become more about winning by shouting than improving one’s understanding by listening. And when there are no debates, no listening, there are marches and strikes, even worse, violent acts to terrorise the other into submitting to a common point of view, thus rendering everyone equal.

The idea of intellectual diversity is politically correct. However, it is extremely difficult to practice in day-to-day life. Take, for example, the Orlando Shooting, where a gunman shot 50 LGBTQ people dancing in a crowded nightclub. Why do we assume that every member of civil society will respond exactly the same way? Why do we get upset when others do not react the same way as we do?

Some people mourn the death of the innocents; others qualify the event as an act of some religious war. Some people feel it was caused by religious education; some people feel it was homophobia, born of self-hate. Some people feel it was the act of a righteous man; some people feel it was an act of a mad man. Some blame it on Islam; some blame it on the easy access to guns in America. Tempers are running high as everyone is not thinking the ‘right’ way.

We cling to an argument, not because it is right, but because it validates our sense of self-esteem. This is called ‘attachment’ in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Clinging to an idea like a dog in the bone, though that is not an accurate metaphor, for more than clinging to our bone, we humans want everyone to cling to the same bone. Life is all about listening to multiple voices and making choices. No choice will ever please everyone. Every choice has a consequence.
And the consequences may not be to our liking. Indic philosophies run along these lines and shy away from the discourse of rules and rights, which is why they tilt more towards diversity and less towards equality.

Religious orders work hard to homogenise their flock. Hence, the use of words like shepherd and sheep. Shepherds do not like goats and wolves. But a world without goats and wolves does not exist. So, the shepherd and the sheep have to be careful, build fences. Carry guns? Some Americans feel they should. But then some shepherds go about killing the sheep. What then? Ban shepherds, ban guns, ban sheep-haters and sheep-abusers? How does one create a sheep heaven, where everyone is equal?
The shepherd forgets, as he eyes the wool, that all sheep are not equal. There is hierarchy amongst them too: the alpha will demand submission of the beta and the gamma. Will the activist-shepherd also find that natural instinct that ‘problematic’ and demand domestication/education, more laws? This yearning to change, and control, than understand, often makes us cruel parents.

And one cannot demand that all become as sheep without presuming to be a shepherd. Ultimately, activism is never about equality; it is, at bottom, always about control. Control requires power over others, and power over others requires coercion by force, and coercion by force is aggression. Therefore, the insistance that all must suffer equally is aggression, if put into practice; and aggression deserves to be answered with a defense sufficient to halt it. Thus, I hold to the political philosophy of Voluntaryism, and to the Buddhist philosophy of observing while reserving judgement... at least until I believe that I can, without the impedance of emotion, discern accurately, judge fairly, and decide rationally.

Interesting discussion you have started here, Mohan.

I see the same things under the grouping of social order and the goal of unity in societies.

Human beings have become a social species. We slowly, over time we adopted it. As time progresses, social attitudes become more complex.

The divergence is because human beings are individuals. Every society is composed of unique individuals. Socialism takes a back seat to individualism.
Its a conflicting double standard and when tested, the individual sides with their own will over social will.

Societies; civilzation, religion, family and friendships all thrive in unity.
Individuals thrive in personal freedom.

Societies are made up of individuals all valuing their own personal freedom.
The individual will tolerate, even assist the societies to which they belong but ultimately, their agenda is personal freedom.

Utopias imply completely unified societies. This can never happen because of individuals who value different things at different times.
We all have our own minds and hearts based on the unique circumstances of own life experiences.
Social order's unity is broken because not everyone in that society is on the same page as anyone else. The unity is a tolerated unity to a certain point.

Societies are like a basket of food.
In that basket you have apples, oranges, bananas, pineapples, muffins, steaks, mushrooms and a whole range of different stuff which makes up the basket of food.
A perfect society wants that basket of food to all be apples of the same shape and size, taste, color and ripeness. Perfect unity.
In nature, that can never happen.

Tom, that is why the benevolent shepherds have to merge us sheep with machines, so that the AI Apocalypse Beast can help us think right thoughts, so that we can all live in perfect harmony and be ready to cordially receive our alien overlords from the galactic federation. Thank you for complying. Ten points have been added to your social credit score. Have a safe day!

The only diversity allowed now days is diversity of skin color, clothing or sexual preference. Diversity of thought and opinion is vigorously discouraged. If you don't go along with all the tenants of liberal progressivism, you are called an ist or a phobe of some sort.

The goal seems to be to create a compliant sheep class that will be satisfied with bread and circuses and who will do what they are told. The propaganda and brainwashing is already incredible with every major media outlet telling the same lies. Watch it get worse unless people fight back

1984 was a warning, but they use it as an instruction book

I agree! Why else would some join the cult of personality of a failed yet elitist real estate scammer?


Please excuse me; if you're a real estate scammer yourself I suppose you would be more willing to worship this type.

You sound bitter, has life treated you poorly?

Diversity of thought and opinion is one thing.

Shooting people cause you don't agree with them is quite another.

You're right Motown, like the kind of lunatic that would think to say things like "I could stand on 5th Ave and shoot someone and not lose a single vote".



Sugardaddi............life has treated me very well,thank you. I just get annoyed with people who parrot the same BS over and over and over...........,
We already have one here that is that deluded why do you want to be another?
You may not like it but wake up and face reality.

Well girth, I am always ready to face reality but I prefer facts rather than opinions which seem to turn out to be false.

Lets take that 5th ave quote you attribute to trump, just for example. Do you have a link to it or is it another urban legend? Legend I would wager or some silly joke. Same as all the other junk. I will not call names because I'm not a far leftist, instead I provide links and facts. I know that is boring and you may prefer salacious rumors but I stick to the facts.

I'm still waiting for someone, anyone to refute the facts I gave. Did he negotiate a peace deal with 4 arab nations and isreal? Yes he did, so forth and so on

Cursing or calling him a name does not change facts. It may make you feel better but thats about it.

What about sleepy joe threatening ukraine with taking away a billion dollars in aid if they don't fire the prosecutor who was investigating the crooked dealings of his son hunter. This has been well documented and he is on video bragging about it.

Here's your boy on video saying he could "shoot somebody in the middle of 5th ave.............", is this good enough or do you want more?

https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/politics/donald-trump-shoot-somebody-support/index.html

I know, I know.............fake news right?

A little joke just as I expected. Thats all you've got, really? Is that supposed to mean he murdered someone? No, a little joke, if obama had said it you would think it was very funny

But what about joe telling ukraine to fire the prosecutor going after his son? That was no joke, that was extortion and bribery. Joe admitted it on camera

https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/24/watch-joe-biden-brag-about-bribing-ukraine-to-fire-the-prosecutor-investigating-his-sons-company/

He bragged about it said if the prosecutor wasn't fired by the time he left that day, ukraine will not get the $1B in aid they were promised. Then he said "son of a gun they fired him"

Hunter was selling access to the vp all over the world and you point to a joke by trump as proof he is the bad guy? Its a good thing you are fair and unbiased.

That's far, far from all. I could easily fill several books about such a morally bankrupt creature. Oh never mind many already have with many more to come I'm sure, Trump can't even tell the truth about where his father was born when it's a matter of public record!
THIS WAS MY RESPONSE TO THE DENIAL THAT HE SAID IT SPINBOY.
Trump lost.
Biden won.
It's the will of the people.
Face it.

I find it amusing how one opinionated political comment can sidetrack an otherwise interesting thread. Kinda like when you mention God and a scripture war happens...LOL.

Back on topic, My dad was born in 1912.
I remember him talking about how free will no longer exists in society.
This was back in the 60s & 70s.
The changes in society which we define as loss of diversity and demand for equality have been happening for over a century. Dad would often quote Ford's assembly line as the culprit. Pink Floyd's The Wall even had an assembly line of people heading for the grinder. Bob Seger sang a song about feeling like a number. From coal miners to steel workers to factory workers to office cubicles, society has been stifling individualism.

Back in the late 70s I attended Commercial Arts and Graphics in Advertising at the local Vo-Tech school. Advertising is meant to entice people to buy something they may or may not actually want. Subliminal markers are used to capture attention, create an desire, even tho the actual product is not related. Everyone has heard about the girl on the vodka bottle or the pictures on a pack of Camels. Even the old Marlboro Man was slanted with subliminal intent. Here we are 50 years later and advertising is big business. Subliminal mechanisms didn't go away, they got more effective and harder to spot.

Television programming has an agenda which is geared to remove individualism.
Movies, commercials, even the NEWS is now slanted with an agenda. Recently, streaming media subliminally convinces you to do this, think that, buy this, act this way.
The 'conditioning' is so complete you have to shut it all off for a year to recognize it. What's more, if you try to tell someone to stop watching TV or put down the phone you are met with hostility. Hostility which is likely a conditioned response to the threat of breaking that conditioning.

After more than a century of active, constant bombardment of conditioning the individual adopts attitudes of delusions about the world around them. Personal expectations are often based on hearsay, not personal experiences.
This is what a family is supposed to have, be, act.
This is how a person is supposed to think, feel, respond.
Its much like the world of "They Live" without the special glasses.
People have become so focused on external direction the fail to realize reality is very different. They convince themselves there must be something wrong with them if they don't fit the mold which has been laid out for them.
This causes stress and depression, a twisted sense of gratification and a focus of needing to get what they want, when they want, exactly how they want it, right now.

When someone steps away from the conditioning they are deemed crazy, weird or rebellious. They're not crazy, they are taking their power back, waking up.

Some common results of conditioning you may or may not recognize:

*Store shelf product layout and impulse buying stations.
*Label layout, color combinations and fonts on packaging.
*Slogans, pitch-persons and keywords

Back in the early 80's there was a trend towards generic packaging. The idea was to put products into packaging with a back & white wrapper. It backfired because 1. not all products were black & white wrapped. 2. Those that were generically wrapped were of low quality. 3. Advertising ramped up its focus on quality for goods packaged using industry standards. We still have generic products but they are associated with low-quality.

*This is how a family should interact.
*This is how friendship should work.
*This is how people should think.

Television has gone thru many stages, all which lead to a greater influence of conditioning as the focus group adopts their plan. The variety show, the mystery show, the situational comedy show, the cop drama, the news digest, the relationships show and so on. The media tells you what is important, when its important. Tells you what is funny (if its really funny it doesn't need a laugh track), tells you what you should do, how you should act and how you should think. Tells you what love is supposed to be, how you should deal with your emotions and gives you a never-ending example of the consequences of not adopting their conditioning.

Its been done so long and so well many people never think to say "Hey, wait a minute. That's not accurate". Instead of diversity of thought, people are conditioned to think in a certain way. It keeps people focused on one thing so other things can happen without notice, till its too late.
People refer to this as The Sheeple Syndrome. The problem is, people who talk about the sheeple syndrome are often sheeple themselves in some form or another but they can't see it because of the conditioning.

People are conditioned to need wealth and power. The underlying condition is greed. Media is focused on our need to satisfy greed as soon as possible. Even religion is basically greed (blessings, heaven's streets of gold, virgins, etc...). There is absolutely no diversity in the human condition of satisfying greed. You may not be greedy for wealth or power but I assure you, everyone is greedy about something. It dates back to the very first time someone wanted something all to themselves, before recorded history.

The conditioning we are all exposed to is founded on human greed.
As a species, greed prevents us from becoming the next level of civilization.
Greed prevents us from doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done.
It controls our invention, innovation and social structure.
It stifles education, isolates cultures, creates first world/third world disparity.

We are focused on wealth and power right down to the decisions we make while we are alone. Its like we are throwing gasoline on a fire then wondering why it continues to burn.
What's worse is the fact most people can't see it. If you try to point it out, they look away, call you crazy. When they do see it, they soon get distracted and lose the thought. The conditioning is effective, constant and accepted willingly.

Equality and diversity are an illusion/delusion. Some of it is directed at you, some of it is of your own making. Its the direction our media is leading us. Society needs unity. Unity is not always a good thing.

Tom, you make a lot of good points. We are constantly pushed to buy, believe, or do as we are told. But keep in mind that advertising, or propaganda if you prefer, works best when it goes along with human nature. Going against the grain gets you very few converts or customers.

Greed or acquisitiveness, is hard wired into our brains and into all animals and living things. Animals must constantly look for food, they often look for mates or territory as well. Those that didn't look very hard died off or were not able to raise the next generation. Those who survived worked hard to acquire what they wanted.

The best propaganda goes with the flow, it tells you how to get more wealthy, how to have more fun, more mates, etc all the toys and goodies we want. To push political propaganda they tell you their guy will give everyone a huge handout, never mind who will pay for it. And they say the other guy won't give you anything.

Today we get lied to all the time. The new norms presented on media are very strange looking to some but some adopt the new ways easily. They may be the sheep you spoke of

I find it all strange because I stopped watching TV and listening to radio over a decade ago. When I visit a doctor and see the people in the waiting room they are glued to the TV or their phones. Completely engrossed. I have an android phone with great service. I have web but I only use my phone for talking and only people I know. I don't have web services enable but they are there in case I need them. I don't even take my phone when I leave unless its a long trip.
I know people who go frantic if they don't have their phones with them all the time.
Its conditioning but not natural conditioning like survival needs.

On my computer I have adblockers and popup blockers. I don't see ads. If a site demands I turn it off I don't visit that site. I'm not interested in anything someone else tells me I need. Its one of my main issues with windoze 10.

When I go shopping I buy what I want not what some commercial tries to tell me I need or should want. I read the packages, look for the best deals and stretch for the top shelf or stoop to the bottom shelves.

I see soda pop at gas stations for almost 2$ per 20 oz. Candy bars smaller than before costing twice as much. People buy that stuff, if they didn't it would be like that. They are conditioned.

We are doing this to ourselves by allowing them to do it to us. Its conditioning and where might that conditioning be coming from? The TV and media everyone is purposely tuned into.

Sorry, I'll make my own decisions, thank you!

Then you have people all stressed out about things on the surface and never do they realize the cause of the stress is the fact what they are being led to believe about things is not how reality actually unfolds.
They're told to do this to get this result and when that doesn't happen they automatically believe the error was on their end when in reality the source data was flawed. Their decision making system has been compromised.

Stress leads to emotional instability which leads to poor decisions which leads to more stress. The source is the fact they buy into the delusional ideas being pounded into them daily. Break the source delusions and the person can usually gain wisdom to make better decisions and remove that stress. Problem is, nobody seems to want to end the charade. Nobody will believe you till they actually do it long enough for the truth to be recognized.

Y'all can make all the excuses ya want but I know better.

Hello Mohan inequality In humanity is a very complex and diverse topic in itself .

Although our evolving awareness of human rights has helped to highlight social inequalities .. inequality will always exist .

To begin with ., we are not born biologically or genetically equal ., as a collective the human brain shares similar anatomical form and function .. however individually how our brain processes thought and contextualises our lived experience is unique . Access to knowledge , education , opportunities and resources which shape our growth and development are globally unequal .

Human evolution Itself is not equal . Survival of the strongest. In the animal kingdom hierarchy is a powerful predictor of survival and has a place in controlling conflict . ... in our human world hierarchy creates a power imbalance and conflict .

Mankind’s history demonstrates the role inequality has played in shaping modern society . For instance ... If we step back in early time and rewrite the history books to reflect that women were the hunters and men the gatherers . . Societal inequalities likely would have evolved differently

Nothing to say that is as intelligent as what is already here. Just want to encourage people to add to this thread it is fascinating to read.

As far as I'm concerned your opinion is just as valid as mine.
I look forward to reading what you think on the subject.

Tom, I really enjoyed reading your very thoughtful points. I agree with everything that you said, except that I should point out, in defense of the Bible, that the reason it says the streets of Heaven are paved with gold is not to appeal to a person’s greed. If one understands this saying hermaneutically, it is clear that the reason the streets are of gold is a statement about the true eternal value of gold, in other words, it’s value is so little compared to the spiritual riches of being in the presence of Christ that it is fit only to be trodden upon. (Feet were very dirty in the sandal days, and anything that they touched was also considered dirty; so a road made of gold demonstrates that gold has very little or no value in eternity.)