I disagree. The world is gone wonky lately because of this misbelief. Not everyone needs to be treated the same. YES everyone needs to be respected, treated nicely and fairly...but fairness IS NOT sameness.
This is why children in schools today are not doing nearly as well as generations past. I've taught K-6. It annoys the hell out of me when teachers feel that every student needs to get everything the same. Giving all children a sticker on their spelling test is dumb. Why does every student get one whether they got 5/5 or 0/5? It's a waste of stickers and it means absolutely nothing to the students.
If we rewards people who go above and beyond the bare minimums in life they we encourage everyone to strive to go above and beyond. If the slackers get the me rewards as those that do that do strive to work harder then why would the slackers improve and why would those that excel continue to strive to excel?
We need to be respectful, polite, nice and all that to every human being but we can certainly go beyond that to reward those that go the extra mile. I think society benefits. The workplace certainly does this...the harder you work the bigger your bonus. The harder you work the more promotions you get. Why can't we teach children this at a young age? They will go farther in life if they learn they have to work harder to receive the added perks of being a hard worker, for striving to be their best, for going the extra mile.