05/20/02
Self-Evident Equality
“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…”
As I was taught to read this historic phrase, the “created” aspect is a figure of speech — one of those peculiarities of chronology that future generations can interpret according to their contemporary beliefs. But the idea of a “Creator” who has “endowed” is neither merely a poetic personification of nature nor a nod to the less-sophisticated masses who would make up the new nation being proposed. In fact, without acceptance of this underlying “Truth,” the “equal” part might not seem so “self-evident.”
This essay has been published in Just Thinking: Volume I, 10/29/01–10/21/02 and is available in Confidence Place: The Timshel Arts Store.
05/13/02 Grownup 101 (Life)
05/06/02 Choosing a Lyric Battle (Religion)
04/29/02 A Bright Future for Revolution, Part 2 (Media)
04/22/02 A Bright Future for Revolution, Part 1 (Art)
04/15/02 A Love-Lit Shelter Sets Me Free (Life)
10/29/01 through 04/08/02 Archives