Oh how swollen are our chests from the pounding we
administer at the noble notions inscribed in our Declaration of
Independence. And noble they are. Jefferson says the following truths are
self-evident. All men are created
equal. All men are endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable rights. These rights include life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. This is the
patriot’s creed. And what a creed it is. What a lofty sentiment. What a crock.
The truths that are self-evident are that these noble
statements are not true. If truth means
that a statement is always verifiable, accurate, consistent and mutually agreed
upon then the statements in our Declaration are not true. Iron rusts when exposed to oxygen. That is a true. Anytime, anywhere. It is self-evident. Once we venture into the realm of politics
and human characteristics we abandon the land of truth for the domains of
belief systems and attitudes and opinions.
If we can show one example of men not being created equal we have
quashed the notion of a self-evident truth.
Clearly we do not believe South or Central American refugees are equal
to American citizens. We do not believe
African Americans are equal to Anglo Americans.
We do not believe Muslims are equal to Christians. We do not believe poor people are equal to
rich people. We do not believe women are
equal to men. Each time we say America
First we are saying we do not believe all humans have rights. The evidence is overwhelming that these human
variables are not equal. Therefore, it
is self-evident that all men are not created equal or we would observe equality
across all the variables of humanity as determined by birth and zip code.
Endowed by a creator?
Wow. And what is the evidence
that there is such a thing as a creator and that he or she endows? There is none. It is a belief. In fact, simple observation supports the conclusion
that if there is a creator then he or she was very stingy with endowments to
some, and overly generous to others. If truths
are self-evident there is no truth to support equal endowment or the existence
of a creator.
Unalienable (a.k.a. inalienable) rights? So do we ever take away the right to
life? Do we ever take away the right to
freedom? Do we ever take away the right
to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness?
Yes. Just ask all the
incarcerated folks in the US and all the families of folks executed in the US
and all the folks who lose their jobs and all the folks who are bankrupt, etc.,
etc. Our laws prescribe ways to take the
rights from others. This is not a
self-evident truth. There are tons of
exceptions that we have created. Yes,
Virginia, there is a justice system that denies people their rights. Therefore, the rights are not unalienable.
The lofty philosophical statements in our Declaration of
Independence are not self-evident, are riddled with exceptions and clearly do
not apply to everyone. So, are these statements
a mere mythical belief system?
No. The evidence is
clear that in the US we can fulfill these lofty goals when folks of good heart
stand for human rights. It is difficult
because often the folks who most need the protection of rights are our least
desirable; they are our minorities, our poor fringes, our people of color, and
our people of different sexual orientations.
To assail the rights of any human on this planet is to diminish our
lofty notion of unalienable rights. To
stand for them, however, moves us closer to the ideals of the Declaration and
makes our truths more self-evident.
Walls by definition are built to separate humans from those that are in from those that are out. Such walls put the lie to our beliefs as outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
It is not easy to support a democracy. But unless we simply abandon the entire
notion that each human being has value and rights we will fall from
self-evident truths to organized discrimination. It was such a system of organized
discrimination from which we declared our independence. And such a system is not a democracy.
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