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About that Level Playing Field

by Pat Pending

These days we hear people talk a lot about the need for a “level playing field”.  What, exactly, do these people mean?  Are they talking about a football field?  Exactly what does it mean for a playing field to be level?  The intent seems to be to treat everyone fairly.  Well, that certainly is a noble goal, but what does fairness mean?

In football, it means that the field is level and both sides have to play by the same rules.  The teams even switch sides of the field halfway through the game so that, if there were some irregularities in the field, neither side would obtain an unfair advantage.  In football, whether you are large or small, fast or slow, fairness means that you have to play by the same rules as everyone else.  By applying the rules equally to everyone, we know that the game is fair, and the “playing field is level”.  Fairness in sports does not mean that everyone gets to win.  We recognize that the faster runner will outrun the slower runner, and that is fair.  We recognize that a scrawny lineman doesn’t stand a chance against a big bruiser, and that is fair. We know that the guy who pumps iron for three hours a day will probably be stronger than the guy who sits on the couch eating Twinkies, and that is fair.

But what does a “level playing field” mean outside of sports?  We already had a system in which the rules were supposed to apply equally to everyone.  That is what the rule of law and equal justice under law means.  The law is supposed to protect your life, liberty, and property against thieves, murderers, and defrauders no matter who you are, how young or old you are, or how rich or poor you are.  Of course, the system is not perfect, just as no referee calls every call exactly right, but, as long as we are striving to treat everyone equally under the law, you would think that would be considered fair.  But that’s not at all how it works with the “level the playing field” crowd.

In fact, the people who are calling for a leveling of the playing field today are talking about exactly the opposite of applying the same rules to everyone.  They want to treat everyone differently, applying different rules to everyone in order that everyone might end up with the same result.  In other words, today a “level playing field” means that we should put lead weights on the fast guys so they can’t outrun the slow guys.  We should put a barricade around the scrawny football lineman so he can compete with the big bruiser.  We should treat everyone unequally so they can all end up with the same result.

But what kind of game is that?  No matter how talented you are or how hard you work, you should end up in the same place?  Nobody should take a risk, because nobody should ever have a chance of failing?  Every game should end up a tie?  Nobody should strive to succeed or win for fear of hurting someone else’s feelings?  Sounds really great, doesn’t it?  No risk, no gain, no wins, no losses, just blah.  

Thanks, but I prefer the old kind of level playing field in which fairness means applying the rules equally to everyone – the one where you can make spectacular catches, and risk being driven back into your own end zone, and pull a play that nobody expected and run 99 yards for a touchdown.  The kind of game where hard work and talent and luck still count, and where people still strive to do their very best, and to succeed against all odds, and where the fans stand up and cheer when their team excels, and cry when their team loses, and boo when the refs make an unfair call.  The kind of game where you really want to give it your all; where what you do really matters; where you are really alive!