Setting the Bar

Today two friends and I tromped along a long-neglected creekside trail on the southern edge of the Sespe wilderness. After hoisting myself up a four and a half foot bank, I recounted one of my many battles with physical exertion:

Me: "Last month when I had that gym membership that switched the workouts every day, there was one day that required sets of pull-ups. Of course, I had never done pull-ups, so it was terribly difficult, but the coach said that I should jump."

A: Rightfully laughed.

Me: "Well, he said that my chin needed to clear the bar, and if I couldn't do it then I could stop and rest so that my chin cleared the bar for each pull-up. It just about killed me, but I did all of them. Afterwards I asked the coach what short people did because all of the bars were pretty much the same height. He laughed and told me, 'Yeah, they either have to jump high or pull hard! It's pretty difficult.'"

A: "Yeah Katie, haven't you learned by now--short people have to work harder." 

Me: "Well, it just seems unfair. I mean, I couldn't pull myself up that high if I was short. But I definitely took advantage of it; I wasn't about to ask for a higher bar."

K: "Always seeking justice."

--General laughter--

K: "But did you notice that your version of justice was you getting a higher bar, not lower bars for the short people?"

A: "Yeah, Katie. Why do we have to work harder? Why can't we just get lower bars and make life easier for everyone?"

Me: "You're right. I didn't even catch that. Maybe this is a problem I need to examine. This might even be my next blog post."

From this simple conversation, much can be extrapolated about disability, equality, and justice--all topics much on my mind. The simple synopsis is that God has created each individual with different abilities. Thus, the goal of equality is not uniformity. Rather, it is to extend the same value and opportunity to every individual. Equality will give everyone a bar proportionate to their height, not set a standard bar height. Justice extends beyond equality to ensure that people have the opportunity to thrive. Justice cannot provide the determination to pull your chin over the bar, but it will buy you orthopedic shoes for bad feet or maybe position a stool under the bar for a pregnant woman. Our friend justice will also demand ten more pull-ups if you cheat on your count and will certainly throw you out of the gym if you push another athlete off his bar. Short or tall, equality and justice for all!