Fair

I wonder what genius first made the observation that “life isn't fair.” All truisms begin as truths and all truths begin with a moment of insight. I wonder how long humans had been practicing articulate speech before this astounding observation slipped randomly out of some perspective philosopher's mouth? I suppose the concept of fair itself had to have existed first. A person can't recognize something as unfair without some prior knowledge of what fair is.

Where did the idea of fair come from? Maybe it goes back to the rise of civilization when the first crude farming communities found that an equitable division of labor resulted in a larger crop yield and, thus, an easier life for all members of a society. The idea took root, so to speak, and was extended to include other areas of human interaction. However the idea started, fair has always been an iffy proposition at best.

The truth remains that life is incredibly unfair, so unfair in fact, that I for one am amazed that its contrary was ever postulated in the first place. When has life ever been fair? The good suffer and the wicked prosper; what's fair about that? Think of all the suffering in the world. How much of it is deserved? How much of it can possibly be categorized as just? If God exists, he must have his finger on the scales; 'cause things just aren't balancing out the way they should. “Life isn't fair.” Amazing.