America, together, for all

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“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, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

For more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

--President Barack Obama, from his Inauguration speech, January 21, 2013

On this day, July 2, 1776--The Declaration of Independence

Today, officially, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed. That, of course, is basically what we celebrate each year with our "Independence Day" and "4th of July" celebrations. And here is the 2nd sentence of that important document, of which we are all so familiar: 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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And we're so proud of that. Right? But let's be clear, folks--we can repeat that line and we can be proud of it, sure, but this nation, the United States of America, has NEVER believed and exercised that "all men are created equal". Let's be serious and honest here. Women fought for years to get their equality. Then African-Americans had to fight for over 300 years to get theirs. And even to this day there are people fighting for the very equal rights of simply being able to visit their "significant other" in the hospital and the right to inherit, should they die and finally, of course, for the very equal right to commit to and marry whomever they please, whatever their sex. So don't for a minute think that the United States is now or ever has been a place where "all men"--all people--"are created equal". It's bullshit. We never have been and we still aren't, right up to today. That said, enjoy your holiday weekend anyway, folks, but let's keep pushing for what we could be--for what we think we are and for what we tell everyone we are and already have.