Now that's being unfair.

Fairness. It’s so hard to define. What does it mean to be fair? Especially in dealing with other people.  With friends and associates. With ourselves, too. I start with a negative. By identifying the people that I perceive as being unfair. To me. Or to others.  Possibly to society as a whole. That’s why I’m a political liberal. And down on conservative Republicans. But still, I try to be fair. To everyone. Even to the so-called unfair. The people I dislike. Often for social, political or economic reasons. For being grossly unfair. Sometimes, I allow myself to be unfair to the unfair. Because I think of them as mean-spirited. As downright selfish beings. As opponents of the common good. They probably treat me the same way. For the same reasons. Tit for tat. We can’t ever agree on what’s fair. To everyone. Maybe that means fairness is an impossibility. Therefore, we have winners and losers. The prevailing attitude. Not everyone can win. But I’m not so sure about that. I’m willing to compromise. For the sake of fairness. But I can’t seem to get the other side to meet me halfway.  So I offer to give 70 percent. And to take only 30 percent. But still, they demand. That I give 100 percent. Now that’s being unfair. --Jim Broede