Human equality is a universal right and self-evident truth for which we should all fight, but sometimes remembering that everyone is created equal goes out the door when you learn about another famous Skarsgård and have the immediate impulse to compare them to their Swedish kin. The paradox of human equality existing when there’s a seemingly clear hierarchy of Skarsgårds may be confounding, but here’s how to live with these contradictions without shattering your worldview.
Reframe your thinking.
It may be easy to rate the Skarsgårds based on arbitrary measurements such as looks, success, and fame, but those are just tangible assets to judge them by. Remember, “equal” is subjective and that there are plenty of internal, less flashy qualities that the lesser-known Skarsgårds may have going for them. Sure, Alexander might be the sexy vampire from True Blood and Stellan has widespread critical acclaim, but maybe Gustav is like, a really good cook?
Accept life’s contradictions.
The Skarsgårds seem like living proof that human equality is false, but maybe these two things can both be true. Life is full of imperfections, people contain multitudes, and the fact that one Skarsgård repeatedly plays shirtless hunks and the other is eerily good at playing a serial killer clown is merely evidence of that.
Question authority.
If the struggle of the Skarsgårds existing even though everyone should be created equal is still too much for your brain to process, it may be time to chuck one of those beliefs out the window. After all, one is a data-driven conclusion from empirical research and one is just something an old white guy said in the 1700s. The Constitution is a living document, right? Maybe Thomas Jefferson simply didn’t foresee a famed family of Swedish actors with various statures when penning those words. Surely if he were alive today and saw the Skarsgårds on the red carpet, he too would question what he wrote.
The struggle for human equality is forever ongoing, and it doesn’t help when celebrity families pander to your animal instinct to rank them. The Skarsgårds’ presence may be a blatant diametric opposition to any activists’ words on equality, but with these methods, you can still fight the good fight and deal with this moral conundrum. At least, until the next It movie comes out and sends you spiraling all over again.
