Wednesday, May 07, 2008

All Are NOT Created Equal

Anyway, when I discuss politics, I try to do so by relying upon intrinsically true cosmic principles that can have no expiration date. One such principle -- from which all other political principles must flow -- is that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Once you reject this principle, all kinds of political mischief follow.
--Gagdad Bob

All people are not created with equal abilities or opportunities to pursue happiness and achieve the successes that Gagdad and many others of similar persuasion naively (or disingenuously) say we are. And I believe that when we reject this obvious fact, all kinds of political and economic mischief follow. I agree that people who are struggling should do more to help themselves to succeed. But I also agree that government can play more of a legitimate role in empowering people to do this. Gagdad, with all his intellectual brilliance and education, may not need much of this kind of help. But not all of us are "created equal" to Gagdad Bob.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

I would say that we have "equal rights" -- which is the limit of the Declaration of Independence statement.

Because of a sequence of crazy events, I am now homeless, roaming the streets of Sacramento, staying [mostly] at the Union Gospel Mission.

Having learned what I've learned over the past couple weeks, I certainly agree with you, Steve, that poverty is a great struggle that those who are well established simple do not appreciate how extraordinarily hard it is, by a long shot.