<p>Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.</p>
<p>Our cherished notions of what is equal and what is fair frequently conflict. Democracy presumes that we are all created equal; competition proves we are not, or else every contest would end in a tie. We talk about a level playing field, but it is difficult to make conditions equal for everyone without being unfair to some.</p>
<p>Adapted from Nancy Gibbs, "Cool Running"</p>
<p>Assignment:</p>
<p>Is it possible for a society to be fair to everyone? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
<p>The question is it possible for a society to be fair to everyone? suggests the possibility of life, society and the whole human construct being fair to everyone. Before answering this question, I would firstly like to argue upon the definition of the word fair. According to me, fairness and justice are subjective notions depending on the beliefs and opinions of the observer (i.e. definition of justice is not universal).For some people, what the society does to a person may be fair, while others may look it as a cruel, immoral, illegal and even a shameless act. Therefore, it is not possible for a society to be fair to everyone because every individual of the society holds a different opinion and a different assertion-some may think that it was justified when the average Joe out there was mugged, while others may think it as an illegitimate act.
Take for example Salman Taseer; a Pakistani businessman and a Politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011.Taseer commented on his view about the Blasphemy laws in Pakistan. Voicing his opinion against Blasphemy law in Pakistan-which he often called the black law, Taseer was assassinated by his own security man, Mumtaz Qadri, in 2011. The assassin claimed that he killed the governor due to his opposition to the Blasphemy law. Today, large factions of Muslims hold Qadri as a hero while Suleman supporters consider the deed to be a heinous crime. In other words, many Muslims consider it as a fair and a justified act whereas some consider it to be highly unfair and a ruthless act. Some protested on the streets of the Nation to execute Qadir whereas at the same time others revolted to exonerate the assassin. What can be deduced from this example is that it is not within reach for a society to be unbiased with everyone; on the same issue, it may be fair to some people, but at the same time unfair to others, due to the opposite opinions held by the people of the society on the same problem.
Consider the case of my beloved country Pakistan. Along with the myriad of political and economic problems, an array of social problems also await the country, with the most crucial being resolving education emergency in Pakistan. Since the country is also passing through a difficult phase of military crisis, so more than half of the budget is allocated to military rather than social causes-in order to protect the nation from military insurgencies and terrorists activities. It is common to see debates flaring up every day in newspapers or television and journalists and politicians arguing against each other over the wrong allocation of budget. To some, it is perfectly fair that more budget must be allotted to military, as they believe that security is far more important than education, whereas others strongly oppose this idea believing education must be given more attention and therefore more budget. Cutting the story short, we can deduce from this example that it is not possible to satisfy the demands of both proposition and opposition at the same time and on the same issue. Giving preference to military may seem fair to some people of this Nation, but highly unjustified to others. A society cannot be fair to everyone.
So, it is evident from the two examples above that in many cases it is an impracticable and an unattainable task for a society to be honest and fair to everyone; to be in line with the opinions and assertions of both the advocates and the oppositions .However, there may be some exceptions where the society is totally fair to each and every member of the society-but that case has no yet come to be in my life.</p>