What makes you an equal human being?

So let's stop for a moment and think about what it means to be a human being. An equal member of the homo sapien category. Ignore the question about the equality of living beings for a moment, and focus on finally figuring out our own group, then we can move on and straighten out the rest of creation.

Alright, in today's society, let's look and see the requirements for equality in the USA.

#1 - Be an American.
If you're not born and raised in the US of A, don't bother coming, because we obviously don't want you. That's the message that Americans are sending the rest of the world right now. We are the best, but that means we only welcome the best. We are a country of immigrants, and yet we hate immigrants. Does this sound a little hypocritical to anyone else? Seriously, we don't even like Europeans, even though we feel better about inviting them than we are about, say, Mexicans. None of us really belong here, except Native Americans (who we drove almost to their demise, BTW). Americans need to be more open and unprejudiced against the rest of the world.

#2 - Be white.
The world's white population has a major advantage over the other visual types of humans. In just about every country, the white population holds a disproportionate amount of power. White children are less likely to be made fun of as their counterparts, white children are less likely to be born into situations of extreme poverty, white adults are more likely to land jobs and be accepted into universities. The majority of the American government is made up of white males, instead of accurately representing the diversity of the country. To date, there has only been one black president, and no women presidents. All the other presidents were white.

#3 - Be a man.
We all know it's true - men have the advantage in our society. And in this case, it's not just America. The same problems occur day after day across the globe. Men get the better jobs, overall have a higher pay grade, and are the ones who make all the rules, even the ones that only concern women (i.e. insurance coverage for birth control). Half of the planet's human population is removed by this requirement. A truly great society does not discriminate so blatantly against women and people of races and ethnicities different from our own.

Is it really so difficult for society to become unprejudiced and unbiased? Is it so hard to admit that everyone on Earth is equal, and no single group of people is better than another? I don't think so. I acknowledge the advantages I have - which I am purely lucky to have - and try to use those advantages to bring those same advantages to the less fortunate in the world. Being born in the USA, being born white, both are advantages that I automatically have, whether I try to take them or not. But that doesn't mean I should have those advantages. We need to level the playing field so that no one economic class, social class, or political class has more power or advantage over another.