The United States of America was founded on the idea that all men are created equal. At that time, the Founding Fathers wrote that with the thought "all men," men being white, property-owning men, are equal. Now, it is the year 2016 and a lot has changed since then... or has it? I would love to think the U.S is perfectly equal, or at least with equality as one of the forefronts to be improved upon. That is not the case. Dictionary.com defines equality as "the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability." I want us as a society to stop using this word wrong. Instead, I want us to use the word just or justice. Just, defined by dictionary.com, is an adjective to meaning "guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness." It is easy to mix these up. The picture below illustrates the differences between the two.

There are quite a few examples of the misuse of the words "Equal/equality" and "just/justice" in today's culture. For example, the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards. The BET Awards recognizes minorities all across the spectrum of entertainment from music, acting, sports, etc. The individuals who take part in this show, who are nominated and who win awards, are all talented people who deserve recognition. However, this is not considered equality. Now I am aware of the debate involving the Oscars' lack of diversity in the categories of best actor/actress and supporting roles. Just because a minority community isn't recognized, that doesn't mean someone or some group is racist. Minority individuals have won awards in those categories in the past (e.g., Halle Berry 2002 best actress), just like some non-minority individuals have won a BET award (ex. Sam Smith 2015 best new artist). I do not have an issue with award shows recognizing incredible people. I have an issue with the people who justify having it because it is an example of "equality." When the minority/majority has something the majority/minority does not have, that is not equality. Allowing the minorities to do something because they are underrepresented is just.

It's odd to think there was a point in our history where we treated other caucasian people unequally and unjustly. I am referring to the Irish Potato Famine from 1845-1849. Many Irish folk immigrated to the United States due to this famine and were not welcomed with open arms. Today, I don't think anyone has a grudge against an Irish man/women because they are solely Irish. Where is their retribution? Where is the justice with their mistreatment? I would say they were eventually welcome. With similar events happening around the world, it would be wise to learn from a past mistake of unjust actions.

There are many other daily instances where society is neither just or equal, such as the unfair pay women receive for doing the same job as men, a minority being turned away for the color of their skin, a tattooed person being denied a job because of their tattoos and not qualifications. However, because some groups of people have been treated wrong, does that mean we owe them anything? It depends on your view: if it is about equality, no, but if it's about justice, then yes.

All-in-all, the United States seems to be more just than equal. The problem I see with this is the misuse of the words. Sadly, our lovely country is not perfectly, it has gotten closer within the past decades, equal. No country is perfectly equal among every one of its citizens. America is more concerned about justice for its citizens than equality for its citizens, and depending on the topic at hand, that can be a good thing, or a bad one.