"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." These lines come from the Declaration of Independence. Ever since those words were penned to paper, Americans have been on a continual quest for equality.
Equality is an illusion. Thomas Jefferson knew equality was a lie when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson had his food cooked, clothes washed and gardens worked by slaves. Under his very nose, Jefferson there was no equality of persons. In colonial Virginia, 30%of the population were slaves. In addition to Jefferson, a third of the Founding Fathers owned slaves.* Yet, all these men and non-slave owners signed the Declaration of Independence.
Over the next 200 years, equality were granted to different segments of the population. By the 21st Century, one would think that equality was no longer an issue and every one was equal. Sure, there are little things that need to be tidied up. Unfortunately, equality is still out of reach. Every time a group of citizens are granted equality, another groups loses some portion of their equality. The First Amendment to the Constitution has been hit pretty hard. Other parts of the Constitution and the Amendments have been eroded.**
There is no equality in America. The illusion of equality is continually perpetuated.
* A good deal of the population had no problem with slavery. In colonial America, slavery was not a North versus South issue.
** The list is too long to be covered in one blog post.
