Unfairness
Ok, so i was over at the Formidable Law Blogger's blog, reading some of the comments on her post about potentially canceling class because of the snow. Ms. Althouse considered cancelling class because students who live further away or have children that are in school (and, therefore, home today because of the snow day) would be unable to make it to class while the normal law student would be able to make it. Therefore, having class, argued Ms. Althouse, would have a disparate and unfair impact on those student who, through no fault of their own, simply are not able to get to class today.
So, one of the commentators said something to the effect of "well, life's inherently unfair, so don't cancell class."
This gives me an opportunity to rant, which i love to do.
First of all, the statement that "life's inherently unfair" is clearly true. It's not fair, for example, that my biggest worry today is driving home, feeling better, and trying to catch up in my classes while for someone else today presents a very real danger of death. However, what this commentator is saying is that, because life is inherently unfair, it's ok to add additional unfairness to the world. Well, that argument doesn't hold water. In fact, i think the opposite is true: because the world is inherently unfair, it is our duty to try to make it more fair. I certainly hope i'm not alone in holding that view.
Certainly, the ideal is something i've fallen far short of myself. But we should, all of us, try to do the right thing whenever we can. That will, i think, lead to a more fair world. There are things we can't control, like the whether, but we can control ourselves and our actions. And it is our responsibility as good people to make sure that we're as fair as possible.
Therefore, i say cancel the class, Althouse, and be proud that you did the right thing.
So, one of the commentators said something to the effect of "well, life's inherently unfair, so don't cancell class."
This gives me an opportunity to rant, which i love to do.
First of all, the statement that "life's inherently unfair" is clearly true. It's not fair, for example, that my biggest worry today is driving home, feeling better, and trying to catch up in my classes while for someone else today presents a very real danger of death. However, what this commentator is saying is that, because life is inherently unfair, it's ok to add additional unfairness to the world. Well, that argument doesn't hold water. In fact, i think the opposite is true: because the world is inherently unfair, it is our duty to try to make it more fair. I certainly hope i'm not alone in holding that view.
Certainly, the ideal is something i've fallen far short of myself. But we should, all of us, try to do the right thing whenever we can. That will, i think, lead to a more fair world. There are things we can't control, like the whether, but we can control ourselves and our actions. And it is our responsibility as good people to make sure that we're as fair as possible.
Therefore, i say cancel the class, Althouse, and be proud that you did the right thing.
