Fair and Equitable

photo credit: Wikipedia

I don’t much believe in astrology except that I am very interested in balance and I was born under the sign of Libra – which is represented as a scale. Coincidence, perhaps. Fair and equitable are worthy objectives when searching for a solution to anything within a group. But blasted hard to achieve sometimes.

Mainly because these are very subjective words – how a person defines fair is very much dependent upon factors in their life that have little or no bearing upon the current situation. Or perhaps upon the definition of the word fair in the dictionary. I can’t control this, and can only account for it minimally in crafting any solution.

Does this mean that I should not attempt to be fair and equitable? Absolutely not. Even if something is difficult to achieve, it is often a worthy goal. Fair and equitable is always a worthy goal. (And not worth tracking how often you achieve – but perhaps worthy tracking what didn’t work with a particular group and why…)

Like right at this moment is it fair that the dog is standing on the outside of the sliding doors looking beseechingly at me, wanting to come in, while I type? Yes, it is – I don’t want to lose my train of thought and it isn’t overly cold, there is no rain and most likely another dog out on a walk will be by shortly to distract her. That’s my call, you may make a different determination of fair in this example.

Generally the best thing that a person can do is to decide what rules, based on their own experiences plus current circumstances, constitute fair and equitable. If you don’t know what these look like for yourself, how can you possibly begin to apply them in larger settings such as within a group? Yes this takes thought and effort. Yes it can be uncomfortable. But you will have a stronger position if you put the effort into clearly defining your own position.

Then you can build on your own general definition to determine what is fair and equitable within the context of different situations and groups. You can take into account the make-up of the group itself, or the specifics of the situation. Are there extenuating circumstances? Is this on-going or one-time?

I’m going to go let the dog in now. What does fair and equitable mean to you?