There are many people who think that equality means nobody being allowed to be special. This is very wrong. Thomas Jefferson was pretty special. Steve Jobs was pretty special. Marie Curie was pretty special. John Lennon was pretty special. All of these people made contributions from which the normal person is benefiting to this day.
With equality, of course, the question is, in what? Different people are differently endowed. Different people go to different lengths to make the most of their endowment. I am not equal to Mike Tyson in beating people up. I am good at a number of other things. Me being equal to Mike Tyson does not mean me and Mike Tyson having similar body or similar brain.
I have found out that equality is not the most important thing to strive for. As is often said, people in socialism are equal in misery. To think that everyone is the same is insanity. To demand that everyone be the same is worse than insanity. That way, the person is denied self-actualization and the world is denied the benefit of what the person has to offer. And that is as bad for everyone else as it is for the person.
There was a movie in which some school bullies told a girl who took school seriously, “You think you’re better than us?” She said no, but as a matter of fact she was. She was studying to better herself and go on to be a productive citizen. They did nothing but beat people up. She was definitely better than they were; and there are many, many people like her and like them.
With equality, the question is, once again, in what? I heard a priest say that men and women are “equal in value, different in roles.” I have heard psychologists say that everyone involved in the economic process is important, this being as much the case for a janitor as it is for a CEO. There are many people who think that everything that happens to people and where they wind up is their karma or their consciousness, and that these things determine where people find themselves in society. In all cases there are various definitions of equality.
As for being special, I suppose that any position can be painted as special by a skilled artist. There are movies that glorify soldiers, businessmen, athletes, journalists, lawyers, movie stars. All are portrayed as special. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with seeing oneself as special for as long as one recognizes special traits in other people, including people who are nothing like oneself. The process requires many different types. How people see themselves is their business. That a soldier can be portrayed as special does not mean that a businessman can’t be special. They can both be equal in being special – and both be necessary to the process.
This – being equal in being special – is then the solution to this issue. Be special in your own unique way and support the same in other people. Don’t posit false dichotomies between being equal and being special. It’s not one or the other; it’s both. The world is big enough to accommodate any number of special people. Make the most of the possibilities that you have.