Principles of Liberty (Six)

Principle Number Six
By William L. Pressgrove

“All men are created equal.”

The interpretation of this principle has changed over the years. Government leaders have departed from the real intent and expanded the meaning of this principle as conveyed by the Founding Fathers.

Many of those I talk to today think that this principle means that each citizen should have equal “everything”; equal income, equal property, equal influence, equal prestige and stature and the list goes on and on. An investigation of the writings of those who were present for the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would indicate that they had a profoundly different understanding of what the phrase “created equal” meant. The following excerpt from The 5000 Year Leap clarifies their meaning:

“Yet everyone knows that no two human beings are exactly alike in any respect. “They are different when they are born. “They plainly exhibit different natural skills. “They acquire different tastes. “They develop along different lines. “They vary in physical strength, mental capacity, inherited social status, in their opportunities for self0fulfillment, and in scores of other ways. “They how can they be equal?” (The 5000 Year Leap, Skousen p. 103)

“The answer is, they can’t except in three ways. They can only be TREATED as equals in the sight of God, in the sight of the law and in the protection of their rights.”

Looking at these three areas individually, the position of the Founding Fathers becomes clear and unmistakable. First, God is no respecter of persons. That means that He knows all about us and treats each of his creations with the same respect and dignity, even though we as his creations don’t have the same capacity and tend to judge and stratify our fellow human beings into classes. His judgment of us is based on what he knows about what we really are inside. In that we are all “created equal.”

Second, being equal before the law means that whether we are paupers or high born, the law looks at us as equals. If a rich man commits a heinous crime, he has to stand trial just like the poor man does. Although now-a-days, it appears that the justice of our courts tends to excuse those who can pay for the lawyers to defend them and incarcerate those who can’t afford to pay for notorious attorneys. This is one area that our system needs some serious fixing.

And third, equal in rights. Each is entitled to his “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.” Cleon Skousen stated it this way:

“The goal of society is to provide ‘equal rights,’ which means protecting the rights of the people:
At the bar of justice, to secure their rights.
At the ballot box, to vote for the candidate of their choice.
At the public school, to obtain their education.
At the employment office, to compete for a job.
At the real estate agency, to purchase or rent a home.
At the pulpit, to enjoy freedom of religion.
At the podium, to enjoy freedom of speech.
At the microphone or before the TV camera, to present views on the issues of the day.
At the meeting hall, to peaceably assemble.
At the print shop, to enjoy freedom of the press.
At the store, to buy the essentials or desirable things of life.
At the bank, to save and prosper.
At the tax collector’s office, to pay no more than their fair share.
At the probate court, to pass on to their heirs the fruits of life’s labors.” (The 5000 Year Leap, Skousen p. 105)

Two things are evident when you look at that list. First, the list isn’t all inclusive, and second, it appears that government has, over time, begun to violate or at least interfere with many of those rights.

The last point I would like to make very clear is this; the Creator gives us inalienable rights, the government doesn’t. When those who govern begin to think that they are more powerful than those who elected them, they begin to usurp power that rightfully belongs to the sovereign (us, the citizens, in this country) and make laws that give some rights to the people and takes away others. The big caution here is; if the government gives, the government can also take away. Power in the hands of man corrupts, therefore, when it is convenient to give a right to the masses it will be done, but on the other hand when it is no longer convenient or advantageous for the masses to have that right, those in power will repeal that right with equal facility. Example, the Bill of Rights gives the citizenry the right to bear arms. There are factions in government today that want to remove that right from the masses.

When you get a chance, find some secluded place and take time to contemplate this most valuable principle of being created equal and the significance of its simplicity and veracity. The least that each one of us can do is to get involved by expressing our opinions to those who govern. They need to know how “we the people” feel on issues and they won’t ever know if we don’t tell them.