Musings on 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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

If you are unsure from where I obtained this quote, then you are likely not American, or you should forfeit any right to an opinion about the state of our country, race relations within it, and the direction in which it is headed. Admittedly, I do not agree with part of this statement. We know that all men are not created equal, at least from a biological standpoint. It is why we have ugly people, beautiful people, natural Olympic level athletes, extreme intelligence, etc. There are many examples of humans not being created equally from a genetic standpoint. The important part of the first sentence, however, is that all men (and women) are “endowed with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Whether these rights are assigned by a Creator is not for me to decide and is, quite frankly, irrelevant. What is important is that our country has systematically ignored this integral tenet of our founding document and to claim otherwise is ignorant at best, and deliberately oppressive at worst.

Black people are people; women are people; gay people are people. Today I will focus on the former group, although there is no doubt that women and the LGBTQ community are still oppressed in this country. Im not going to hold your hand and guide you step-by-step through the details of every example of systemic racism in America, and I do not at all claim this article to be an exhaustive list of such offenses. If some of these references are lost upon you, I encourage you to do your own research into them. For those that actually care, you will work to be informed. For those that are close-minded, you will ignore all examples that do not fit your worldview anyways, no matter how much that view does not line up with reality. Unfortunately, no amount of logic will convince you otherwise.

The Black community has long suffered at the hands of our government and the white citizens of our country. At first, it was slavery. Our Founding Fathers claimed that all men are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights, yet still allowed/supported the institution of slavery. While it is undeniable that these men achieved great things and did a fantastic job of setting up this country, one cannot ignore this contradiction and hypocrisy. The apparent dichotomy between declaration and action was not an issue that went unrecognized by those in power at the time, either. William Whipple, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire and a member of the Continental Congress from 1776 through 1779, emancipated his slave, believing that no man could both fight for freedom and hold another in bondage. It is irrelevant as to whether or not you believe that such a huge change was possible for the country during so volatile a time—the facts remain that, as a nation, we claimed one thing and we acted on another. The Civil War came. If you are of the belief that the Civil War was not fought over the institution of slavery, you are disillusioned. Research how many Confederate states’ declaration of secession directly cite slavery, as well as the Cornerstone Address, given by Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens. To be sure, state’s rights were involved—namely the right of Southern states to demand the return of escaped slaves from Northern states. The Civil War ends, slavery is abolished, if by name only. Our country continually upholds the legality of oppressing all non-white citizens. Jim Crow laws are enacted. The U.S. Supreme Court votes to support this racism (Plessy vs. Ferguson) and oppression continues. Racial discrimination and segregation have obviously been around for quite some time at this point, but “redlining” officially has its start with the National Housing Act of 1934, eventually leading to the Racial Wealth Gap that still exists today. None of these examples even touch on the racial violence that has either been carried out by a state actor or gone unpunished through our legal justice system. After Reconstruction, lynchings of black people were commonplace and were rarely prosecuted. Over 200 anti-lynching bills designed to make lynching a federal crime have been proposed to Congress since 1900 and not one has been made law. Even now, in mid-2020, an anti-lynching act is being held up in the Senate. There are plenty of specific examples as well. The Tulsa Race Massacre. Emmet Till. Bloody Sunday. Breonna Taylor. The issue of police brutality in this country, specifically in regards to minority groups, is finally at the forefront of societal scrutiny, and it should be. The murder of George Floyd has sparked a fire that is raging across our nation, and the light from that flame is helping to illuminate a serious problem that Black people have been forced to deal with for generations.

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Our government has failed the black community. Systemic racism persists, and has been a part of our nation since its inception. The purpose of government—the original intention as laid out by the Founding Fathers—is to make sure that the unalienable rights of every citizen would not be infringed upon, especially by the government itself. This includes the rights of Black people. Governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed, and it seems our government is beginning to lose that consent. For anyone that wants to celebrate the 4th of July or tout how great America is, it would seem that you agree by default with the words of our founding document. If this is true, then invariably you must agree that there needs to be change in regard to how we, as a nation, treat minorities. If you believe in the original ideals of this country, then protests over the horrendous treatment of a specific group of our nation’s citizens should not upset you. It should infuriate you that such treatment was allowed in the first place. Protests (peaceful ones) are more or less the civil stage of change. It is the right of the people to alter or abolish any form of government that has become destructive to the people’s rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Every year we come together to celebrate the revolting against, and overthrow of, a government that had fallen into despotism and tyranny, losing sight of the purpose of governmental institutions and oppressing its citizens. Why are we shocked that people are starting to rise up against it now; that the Black community is fed up? Why are we not supportive of a change as well? As a nation, we should come together and demand that an alteration take place; an alteration in action more so than in declaration. We should insist that the government uphold it’s purpose for all citizens equally. The only alternative will inevitably be revolution. If you don’t agree with this, then logically either you do not agree with the principles upon which this nation was founded, and therefore must forego your patriotism, or you are certifiably a racist.

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

This last bit should not be taken flippantly. Prudence does indeed dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes. I do not believe, however, that the systemic oppression of Black people that has been perpetrated and perpetuated by our government is an offense that can be considered light or transient. It would be hard for one to logically argue that the incidents cited above would not fit the description of “a long train of abuses and usurpations” that seemingly showcase an intent to “reduce them under absolute Despotism.” When viewed in this light, revolution is almost mandated. Now, do I believe that our only course of action is to band together, overthrow the government, and start anew? No, absolutely not. I think that, generally speaking, we have a fantastic system of self-governing in place to protect the rights of our citizens and to move our country forward. I do, however, very much believe that we should come together and demand that the laws and ideals upon which this nation is founded should be applied equally to all citizens, regardless of race. Regardless of gender. Regardless of sexual orientation. If we do not, then no one should be shocked when people begin to rise up and revolt against a government that has failed on its promise.

The accomplishments of our Founding Fathers are nothing short of amazing. They had the audacity to stand up and fight against tyranny, win a war in which they were outgunned, outmanned, and out-funded, and create a new form of government that undoubtedly changed the world for the better. They got a lot of things right, but they are still human beings. No man is perfect. I agree whole-heartedly with their words, I just find their actions wanting, at least in relevance to the specifics of this article. And while our Founding Fathers may have come up short in regards to true equality, our country does not need to continue to do so.

Change is necessary. Change is mandated. Change, or Die.