The Declaration of Fat Independence

JULY 4th 1776, Philadelphia: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

With these brave words, men set out to make a new country and to establish a new social order: A social order that eventually had as it's goal equality of opportunity for all citizens. Eleven years after the American Declaration of Independence was signed, the Constitution was written and soon after, the Bill of Rights was added.

At first, only white, landholding, Christian men were fully protected by the nation's legal system as they strove for life, liberty and to be all that they could be; but, very slowly, the Constitution, Congress, and the courts began to protect the rights of other groups. Slavery was ended and black men were theoretically allowed to vote. Later women, Indians, and finally southern blacks were given the actual right to vote.

But people came to realize that there was more to full freedom of opportunity than voting and the Bill of Rights. It became obvious that true freedom consists of more then allowing people to complain that their children are uneducated, starving, sick, and discriminated against. For a child to have life and to have a full rewarding one, to have the liberty of many life choices and for that child to be free in it's adult life to pursue happiness, the child must be properly housed, fed, educated, and in adulthood, given employment opportunities solely on the basis of competency factors.

It has taken 200 years, but now the three ideals set forth in revolution that hot July 4th in Philadelphia are pursued by our society for all of its citizens. We now believe that all people have the right to life, even if the medical treatment is more than they can afford. Our society believes that all people have the right to liberty, and so buildings and public accommodations are being made accessible to the handicapped. Our society knows that it is stronger if all its citizens are educated and free to strive for excellence. Thus, there is universal compulsory public education and it has become illegal to discriminate against various social groups on any basis other than competency. Now, ideally, no citizen need hang their head in shame because they are not white, male, Protestant landowners. Our society tells all its citizens that regardless of their circumstances of birth or their genetic differences, they can call on the help of the Federal Government when anyone attempts to deprive them of their revolutionary and constitutional right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Americans are proud of this elimination of second-class citizenship.