"All men are created equal... " Do you believe that?

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, our third president, is known as the Founding Father of the United States and is most famous for writing our Declaration of Independence.

The second paragraph of that Declaration reads "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator of certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." 

We, as a country, believe that. Do you, as an individual, believe that?

Careful how you answer or you may find yourself on the wrong side of the United States of America.


Here's a test for you:

Chris Rock

Comedian Chris Rock is a funny man. Much of his humor touches on the divide between you, the listener, and him.

• Yeah, I love being famous. It's almost like being white y'know.
• Every town has two malls: the one white people go to and the one white people used to go to.
• I live in a neighborhood that is so bad, you can get shot while getting shot.
• I was bussed to a school in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn in 1972. I was one of the first black kids in the history of the school.
• Being with my kids is the best, most fun thing; it's a privilege.
• America is the greatest country in the whole world.

So, not that different from any white one of us, except the black part, right?

But there is a marked difference in the Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness of black and of white. (Latinos, Asians, etc., you know what I'm talking about.)

To make a point, Rock also said in front of an audience, "There isn't a white man in America who would trade places with me. And I'm rich."

As one white man later responded: "The only possible reason would be greed, and you would soon come to realize you made a catastrophic decision as soon as you got pulled over on a questionable traffic violation.

I guess that proves a point. The Declaration of the United States of America and its "self-evident truths... " only counts some of the time, depending on where your perspective lies.

That part about "the right to bear arms" though, that counts every second.

Equal is not an elastic word. It is very specific. The truth is, we are lacking in equal, both in fact and opinion. Democracy and morality can not exist in such a world.

I have walked the streets of Nairobi, Kenya in a group of six as part of a two-day stay. There we found ourselves the only white faces in a busy city that might seem like part of old Manhattan if you squinted. The streets were filled with black faces talking, laughing and speaking in english, a primary conversational language there. It is an interesting perspective when situations are reversed. You should try it sometime.

Maybe Lincoln said it best: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." We are either one or we are nothing. Choose!