It seems that every child utters these famous words, ‘it’s not fair’, and whether or not the particular event which has caused the out pouring is or isn’t indeed ‘fair’ the instructive point on this is that the child inherently believes that fairness is something which exists and should be applied. Parents facing these words typically do one of two things – either they try to explain why the particular event is indeed fair, or they explain to the child that sometimes life isn’t fair and to just accept whatever it is that’s been decided.
As adults we largely accept as a reality that the world isn’t fair, but we don’t change our opinion that fairness is something to be desired or sought. We perhaps become somewhat cynical over time and/or we become thick skinned to the unfairness we see around us, and sometimes we even try to do something about the unfairnesses – but inevitably we find ourselves just putting our heads down and getting on with our own lives as best we can.
The purpose of this post is to challenge the notion that we ever really let go of that simple child-like desire and expectation that things will be ‘fair’. In particular, we can generally accept losing, and we can accept there are differences of opinion and focus; but when the rules are broken we tend to get rather cross. I recently read in the papers that whilst politicians can disagree significantly on points of policy the real anger flares up when procedures or rules are not followed impartially,
An illustration which highlights this point well comes from sport. I spent 10 years refereeing amateur rugby and as anyone involved with rugby knows the laws are not always as clear cut as we would like and there’s room for a referee’s interpretation. In every game there will be marginal calls which go one way or another, but what every player, coach and manager asks for is consistency – consistency in application and fairness, such that it’s the players’ skills, tactics and decisions which determine the outcome of the game and not the referee’s whistle. After a game there’s always plenty of chat (mostly good natured) about various things which happened and the usual discussion of the laws and which ones are working, or rather not-working, as would be liked. But in all of this, and irrespective of whether the laws are seen to be good, bad or indifferent, the thing which really upsets all involved is not the winning or losing, it’s fairness – fairness that the laws are applied equally, fairness that the referee will to the best degree possible oversee the game to the letter and spirit of the laws.
Similarly, we’re all familiar with sitting in a queue of traffic. It can be tedious slowly inching forward, but what really seems to upset people is not the overall speed at which the queue moves, but when another vehicle tries to shoot up a separate lane and then cut in at the last minute thereby avoiding the queue and pushing back those patiently waiting their turn. We can try and find some good grace and tell ourselves that maybe they’re facing an emergency that justifies such poor behaviour, but it really does get us all rather upset.
So why is it that images of hundreds of destitute and poor families risking their lives and with nothing to their name but the clothes on their back arriving on our shores creates in some people a sense of anger and injustice? I believe that much of it comes down to a sense of fairness being broken and not that large swathes of our population are uncaring or dismissive of suffering.
This conclusion is supported by the fact that when faced with a clear sense of overwhelming disaster and suffering the people of the UK are quick to offer help and support. We believe in helping the poor and marginalised and want to help people get back on their feet again. But what we don’t want to see is people ‘jumping the queue’ or breaking the rules to try and push ahead of the rest.
There are millions of people around the world who would love to make the UK their home – that’s understandable, we’re a wealthy, prosperous country, with generally low crime rates, and despite their problems, a healthcare and education system that is far ahead of many other places. But obviously we can’t afford in money, or find in space, the way to accommodate all those who wish to come here. And so we have systems for dealing with that – processes that determine who can come and when. There are mechanisms for dealing with the outbreaks of war and other causes of displacement.
But for the system to work, we have to follow our systems and processes. It cannot be the case that by simply arriving illegally you immediately jump to the front of the queue, or get treated with different rules. By the same token, it also breaks the principles of fairness when people with no connections to the UK receive access to services (e.g. dentists) that our own citizens struggle to access.
And lastly, when a country has given of itself in terms of time and money and opportunity, it doesn’t seem too much to request that those benefitting show some gratitude by accepting the customs, laws, norms and behaviours expected of those living here. And that failure to do so, should lead to the possibility of being removed from the UK in favour of those who will live out a right response.
For a society to work well together the laws, rules and requirements must be, and be seen to be, acting as fairly and consistently as possible. For just as in a game of rugby the failure to do so renders the game unplayable, so in society our failure to do so causes the fabric of society to disintegrate. For the sake of all people, both those in the UK and those seeking to come to the UK, it is imperative that the process is managed in a way that is clearly seen to be fair. This means illegal immigration routes and practices must be stopped, quickly, efficiently and permanently.