Saturday, April 2, 2011

All Men Are Not Created Equal

With all due respect to Thomas Jefferson, all men are not created equal.

There are people who will become great athletes, artists, musicians, singers, poets, writers and mothers, teachers, plumbers, builders, etc. Others may never achieve more than the more menial jobs in our society.

Our task as a democratic nation, which prides itself on fairness and opportunity and often brags about its exceptionalism, is to be certain that everyone has an equal opportunity to reach his or her goals.

In fact, what makes this country great among nations, is that we believe, or at least are supposed to believe, that all, even the "less equal" among us, shall be treated with respect and dignity. 

I fear we are in danger of falling from that honorable position. When I hear folks holler  "We want our country back", I wonder from whom they want it back?