Introduction
The annals of history are replete with inequalities in human relations including, discrimination based on religion, ethnic extraction, race, gender, and sexual orientation. Discrimination has never augured well with many people and so abolitionists still clamor for justice and equality, and have made major strides towards ending it. Nevertheless, over time, the privileges have been fluctuating in some areas for all Americans despite their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.
Enjoying benefits beyond the advantage of most people is the privilege that everyone aim to achieve. However, the big question is that how hard must people work to achieve such privileges? The existence of unequal privileges in 2015 emanates from some reasons that revolve around legal, religious, and social factors.
In this view, the essay argues that improved justice and enhanced equality have led to the formulation of laws, which favor the ‘unequal’ when compared to the ‘equal’ in the modern society. The consequence is that the ‘unequal’ progress further than the White males, men, and the majority. Moreover, the essay argues that heightened levels of persecution and religious switching have contributed to the decline in the Catholic population.
Inequality of Privileges
As no American can choose how he/she would be born, the rewards and mortification are predestined to those considered unequal. The benefits should be all rewarding because everyone is free and non-discriminatory at birth (Cviklova 48). In this view, it is surprising to learn that some people perpetuate vices, such as discernment based on faith, race, and sexual predilection owing to bigotry and intolerance.
The US has experienced these injustices for a long period and civil rights groups and abolitionists have devoted their time and resources to alleviate them. The fruits are that the oppressed now enjoy enhanced constitutionally entrenched privileges. These benefits, however, have made some people in the US society to lament about the costs of the struggles they incur in achieving equity. Thus, in the quest for equity, the society should be cautious not to alienate others.
A ‘straight White male’ may enjoy a privileged life, but the ‘unequal’ can still progress further through hard work and dedication. Scalzi stresses this form of truism when he says that straight White men loathe the word privilege because they cannot access the benefits it signifies (par. 2). At birth, they have many opportunities because they have an orthodox sexual orientation. Into their adulthood, however, they realize that the gay and the minority enjoy more privileges accruing from the struggle for equality.
Scalzi equates the lives of straight White males to a computer game called ‘real world’ suggesting that though they are on the lowest difficulty level, the game gets harder for them (par. 3). Additionally, players at higher difficulty levels, such as the minority lesbians, proceed faster compared to the straight Caucasian men. With only more opportunities accorded to them by the government, the minority through hard work tend to prosper fast at the expense of the heterosexual White males.
Though privileges were not as equal in 2012 as they are in 2015, homosexuals, women, and the minorities had access to them. Gender and racially based forms of discriminations constitute a violation of human rights in the US because the constitution recognizes them. However, these laws do not cover homosexuality, and as a result, homosexuals have suffered discrimination and even persecution.
In 2012, International Commission of Jurists drafted the Yogyakarta Principles, which uphold gay rights as part of other human rights (Cviklova 58). Until then, Sweden was the only country that had laws protecting homosexuals and transgenders. Though most countries, including the US, had not embraced same-sex marriages, they have now allowed gays to adopt children. The principles, when implemented by member countries of the United Nations would constitute international law that legalizes same-sex marriages.
Critical Changes
In the year 2012, Catholic-Christian belief was on the rise, which seemed to fall after many incidents causing many points to be invalid in 2015. The decline in the Catholic population emanates from the reluctance to declare own religion openly due to the fear of persecution, the increasing number of religious switches, and the steady increase in the number of people, who do not see the importance of religion in life.
In Turkey, some government officials cast Christianity in a bad light and the country has restrictive laws, including having two Christian denominations only, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic (Rand 18). As a result, there are reports of people invading Roman Catholic churches, harassing worshippers, and even burning churches. These acts contradict the religious privileges entrenched in the US Constitution that guarantee freedom of worship.
Expectations of a character of loyalty, sincerity, kindness, and all those of good spirits are titles given to a Christian. Killerman re-affirms this by saying the qualities of being kind and peaceful are Christian-like, and a norm rather than an exception (2). The basis of Christianity is love, and the qualities mentioned above are subsets of it.
These virtues, however, have caused Christians misery. Drug hubs thrive in places that are predominantly Christian, such as Mexico and Colombia (Rand 18). The drug lords and distributors find Christians easy to extort from, threaten, and kill. Colombia and Mexico thus have high levels of persecution because Christians preach against societal vices, such as drug abuse, peddling, and crime.
Persecutions of those practicing the Christian faith are in an uproar now in 2015, whereas it never occurred in 2012. According to Rand, there was increased persecution of Christians, especially in 2014, with North Korea as the most hostile place for Christians (4). This outcome is contrary to the privilege of one being able to exercise faith without victimization, as outlined by Killerman (2).
Injustices meted out on Christians are downright barbaric and on the increase in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In the Middle East, ISIS attacks have caused a massive exodus of Christians into peaceful nations. Reports from human rights watchdogs, religious organization, and abolitionists chronicles these inhumane acts and attest to the fact that religious segregation is still ongoing. An escalation of the atrocities mentioned above occurs in areas where people are predominantly Muslims.
Conclusion
The equality of beneficial privileges is available to those who may not fit the criteria, but some people continue to be under suppression in some aspects. The goal in life is to win by any means possible. People appreciate rewards better after hard work and dedication. However, these rewards must be beneficial to all.
In the pursuit of justice and equality, the laws have favored the ‘unequal’ more, making them progress further than straight White males, men, and the majority. Moreover, heightened levels of persecution and religious switching have contributed to the decline in the Catholic population. The true reward only comes when everyone experiences a true satisfaction, which occurs when justice and equality prevail in the society.
Works Cited
Cviklova, Lucie. “Advancement of human rights standards for LGBT people through the
Perspective of International Human Rights Law.” Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology 3.2 (2012): 45-60. Print
Killerman, Sam 2014, 30+ Examples of Christian Privileges. PDF File.
Rand, Stephens 2014, Freedom of Religion and Persecution of Christians: Open Doors Report 2014. PDF File.
Scalzi, John. Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficult Setting There is. 2012.