Liberty and equality

Liberty and equality

Sexual and racial discrimination

Liberty means the ability to do what pleases someone. It is free from oppressive restrictions from the authority on one way of life as well as behavior.  In the state of nature, liberty is being free from any superior force of nature. Liberty and equality are one of the most discussed topics in political science. This is because the two are the basis of any constitutional government. These two values are widely advocated in constitutionalism but condemned in authoritarianism. However, this doesn’t mean that liberty and equality are not a source of problems in the constitutional government. Studies show a society that is characterized by these two values, experiences an inherent conflict between the same. The two seem to be incompatible if not competitive in most cases.

A constitutional government is measured by its ability to protect liberty and equality. The government has to ensure the co-existence of the two because of their competitive nature. This means that the government protects the freedom to do what is permitted by the law and equality before the law. Therefore a successful constitutional government is one that fights for qualified and not absolute liberty and equality. An increase in any of the two causes an imbalance between the two. For instance, the typical situation in most constitutional governments is where equality has been favored at the expense of liberty. 

When the independence of a country is declared, a confession for both liberty and equality is made. The statement that all men are created equal and that the creator endows them with certain rights among them being life, the pursuit of happiness and liberty brings about the balance of liberty and equality. Happiness means the protection of people’s right to enjoy their achievement and what they gain from freedom. It is only when people’s rights are protected that they will be happy and liberty will be appreciated.

The question remains, which of these values is more important. Different arguments have given equality priority for various reasons. Equality has been defined as an essential cause of human freedom. The freedom of countries like America came from the commitment of the Americans towards the principle of social equality. It is, therefore, clear that equality is what brings liberty. In other words, liberty is the implication of equality.

The fact that all men are created equal does not mean that everyone has the same intelligence, beauty, strength, or even moral capacity. There exist a lot of natural differences between man and man. Therefore equality can only mean that people have equal rights to participate in any government activities regardless of their innate differences.  These differences have resulted in a lack of equality due to discrimination. This brings about the concept of sexuality and discrimination. Sexual based discrimination has been evident in different government sectors and workplaces. People have been treated differently in a particular situation because of their sex.

There are different types of sexual discrimination that have been addressed in the equality act of 2010.  The two major types of sexual discrimination are direct and indirect discrimination. Direct is where you are treated worse than someone else in a similar situation because of sex differences. For instance, a nightclub may offer free tickets to women but charge an entry fee for men to get in. On the other hand, indirect discrimination is when an organization has a particular policy that applies to both sexes but puts people into a disadvantage because of their sex. This kind of sexual discrimination is permitted if the organization can give a good reason for the policy.

Harassment is another form of sexual and racial discrimination. A person can experience two types of harassment related to sex or race. The first type of harassment is when someone makes you feel humiliated, degraded, or offended. For instance, a manager might make a comment that shows there is no sense of giving promotion to women because they go for maternity leaves. Also, a racist manager may provide a comment that black people should not get a promotion because they lack enough knowledge and skills. Even if the manager does not direct the comment to a specific person, any female or a black staff might feel humiliated and worried about his or her career. Sexual harassment is the second form of harassment. This occurs when somebody makes you feel disrespected because they sexually treat you. This includes both physically and verbally, like touching, jokes, comments, or assault. It also relates to sending pornographic pictures and sexual emails to someone. For instance, a manager making sexual jokes to one of his female staff and implies that she will get a promotion is she sleeps with him.

Victimization is also another form of sexual and racial discrimination. When a person experiences any form of sexual discrimination, they tend to report to the authority under the equality act. However, those in power might end up mistreating the person because of the complaint made. This is what sexual victimization is all about. Those in authority might treat the person differently because he or she is from a different race. Those who help people make sexual complaints might also get sexually victimized. For instance, a male friend of a female who has been sexually harassed may be cheated when they present sexual harassment complaints to the authority.  In conclusion, equality is the base of liberty for humankind. When everyone is treated equally regardless of their sex, they automatically become free from discrimination.