Americas Equality is our Shared Reality - Article Example

 America’s Equality is our Shared Reality When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, he drew on the philosophy and wisdom of the great thinkers of the past. Socrates, Aristotle, and Locke were on his mind when he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal[…]”. Of course, Jefferson did not mean to imply that we all had equal wealth, weight, color, or talent. The mythical view of a world where everyone was completely equal exists only in a world of science fiction robots. However, these words conveyed Jefferson’s belief that all men were entitled to an equal voice in government, had a right to equal protection of their life and property, and had an equal right to self-determination. Without these equalities, there could be no freedom. Fuchs clarifies the unique relationship we have with freedom and equality when he testifies, “Liberty was grounded in what they called the equality of every person under God, a belief asserted in the Declaration of Independence”. Equality is not a myth; it is an idea and concept that our law, culture, and freedom is rooted in. It is a reality that we continue to struggle to attain and vigilantly guard to preserve as much today as we did in 1776. Jefferson’s immortal words, “all men are created equal”, were meant to be an ideal to aspire to, and that ideal is as real today as it was then. They were not stated as an accurate reflection of the current state of affairs in 1776. Jefferson did not imply that there was absolute equality and that all men would forever be treated fairly. He was keenly aware of the injustices facing the infant Nation as well as he understood the long road that lie ahead towards true liberty. Jefferson, a slaveholder all his life, was against the institution of slavery and looked forward to the day of its abolishment. As if looking into the future with crystal clear vision, Jefferson understood the grave issues at stake for America and the looming threat of violence and destruction if the people failed to accept his words. Writing of the necessity of a movement toward eventual emancipation, he writes in his Autobiography, in the year 1820, It was found that the public mind would not yet bear the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day. Yet the day is not distant when it must bear and adopt it, or worse will follow. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free […]. The reality of Jefferson’s notion of equality is further evidenced by the slow, yet steady, progress America has made towards these concepts. When drastically altering our culture, laws, and society, change must necessarily proceed at a deliberate pace. While for many change has not come quick enough, we can view America’s commitment to Jefferson’s words and the reality of the idea by comparing 1776 to today. When the Declaration of Independence was written, there was an entrenched system of slavery that affected a single race. Women were not allowed to own property and only a minority of the population were allowed to vote. The issue of the displaced Native Americans still loomed in the future. Sixty years after the revolution for equality, women were granted the right to own property. Every generation since then has seen more equality affecting more people than their parents had witnessed. The next generation saw these immortal words reaffirmed at Gettysburg, P.A., when Lincoln proclaimed that America was, “[…] conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". Equality was no myth to Lincoln as he tackled the difficult task of freeing the slaves and playing out the prediction that Jefferson had made forty years earlier. Ensuing years would be graced with the monumental Fourteenth Amendment, which once again framed Jefferson’s words as it reads, “[…] nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (Amendment XIV). The concept of equality was becoming ever more of a reality as it was written into our constitution to be upheld by the Supreme Court. As DuBois observes, “The faith in constitutional revision […] was virtually unlimited, for if amending the Constitution could abolish slavery, what could it not do?” (89). Though African-Americans would continue to struggle for decades to realize progress toward their dream, the reality of equality was taking root. The early 20th century saw workers, mostly minority and immigrant, fighting to secure their rights as they struggled under the protection of Jefferson’s words. Their concept of equality meant that their voice was equal to the corruption of the business baron. Jefferson had provided them with a voice that was amplified by the freedom to organize and the ability to be heard. Workers Unions and Reform Movements were the fruits of the seeds that Jefferson had planted over 130 years earlier. Women’s suffrage, agricultural policy, and religious tolerance have all benefited from the idea of equality. These efforts were not based on myth, they were based in a reality that was sometimes granted and more often wrestled from the grip of fear and hatred. Bias and prejudice are the thieves that steal our equality, and hold it out of reach, taunting and tempting us. The Civil Rights Movement was America’s greatest effort to exercise the right to equality in the face of this stiff opposition. The great leader, Martin Luther King, understood the founding words as he inspired his followers with, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal'". King was not chasing a storybook dream and asking his courageous supporters to fight for a mythical goal. He was referring to the “truths” that are evident. The truth is the reality of equality that King understood and the reality of equality as Jefferson intended. Have we reached the goal of Jeffersonian equality? No we haven’t, and we have a long way to go to achieve it. Racial prejudice, economic inequality, equal access to educational opportunities continue to deny the reality of the Declaration of Independence’s lasting words. We don’t need to look far to find oppression and the usurping of civil rights and liberties. Yet, it does not render equality any less real as we make progress and inch closer to Martin Luther King’s dream. Equality is not a fable, or a bedtime story, or a myth. Yes Virginia, there is equality. It is a reality born into the heart and soul of America, and we all have the obligation to secure Jefferson's ideal, not only for ourselves, but also for all Americans. Works Cited "Amendment XIV." United States Constitution. Cornell Law School. 3 Aug. 2006 . Dubois, Ellen C. Woman Suffrage & Women's Rights. New York: University P, 1998. 1-299. Fuchs, Lawrence. Address. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Washington, D.C. 22 Oct. 1996. 3 Aug. 2006 . Jefferson, Thomas. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson. Ed. Albert E. Bergh. Vol. 12. Washington, D.C.: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1903. 3 Aug. 2006 . King, Martin L. "I Have a Dream." Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 28 Aug. 1963. 3 Aug. 2006 . Lincoln, Abraham. "Gettysburg Address." United States Government. Gettysburg , PA. 19 Nov. 1863. 3 Aug. 2006 . Read More