In political history, there is undeniably no greater sentence than the following, taken from the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson:
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.
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Within this civilization-defining sentence, there are numerous elements of staggering importance, such as the foundational acknowledgment of our Creator, that we have certain unalienable rights, and that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Socialists are particularly vexed by the fact that we have an unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, and not happiness itself.
Each section, and indeed each word, can trigger Talmudic exploration of its depth and impact. But there is no greater part of this sentence, the Declaration of Independence, and of the entirety of Western civilization than: all men are created equal.
Today, this seems like an axiomatic truth, with equality — in so many forms — becoming a baseline assumption in the West. And why not? Of course, people are equal! Of course, every human being possesses inherent value and dignity! Of course, governments should not divide citizens into categories of greater and lesser worth!
But why?
After all, for the majority of human existence, equality was as far from reality as possible. In the context of our entire history, there is nothing obvious about the notion that “all men are created equal.”
(Courtesy of the U.S. Senate Collection)
First, notice the difference between the declaration that we are created equal and the modern interpretation that we are just equal. The motivation here is the dilution of religion — specifically Judaism and Christianity — that not only underpins this nation’s founding but also underpins the entirety of Western civilization. But it is because we were created that we are equal. Without creation, our equality is nothing more than an arbitrary construct that can be taken away with the flick of a pen.
Not only that, the fact that we were created equal was indeed revolutionary, but it was hardly an invention of Jefferson or the Founding Fathers. Instead, it was an acknowledgement of the Judeo-Christian understanding of humanity that begins in Genesis.
In Genesis, mankind is created by God — with monotheism itself revolutionary — and made in His image. This one simple proposition changed everything. It is solely because we are made in the image of God that we are inherently equal. Each of us possesses intrinsic value not based on the ruling of a monarch, or based on our race, tribe, gender, tribe, class, or social status, but because we were created by our Creator.
Yes, the United States initially failed to live up to the ideals expressed in the declaration, with the disgusting practice of slavery rejecting the central premise of equality. Even after slavery was abolished, equality remained out of reach for far too many. But critics often point to these human failures as evidence that the truth expressed by the declaration is false.
This is a lie.
AMERICA 250: THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS THEN AND ALWAYS
As the Founding Fathers understood all too well, mankind is flawed. Our Creator, however, is not, and that remains true regardless of how flawed or perfect our political systems have been since 1776.
Let us remember as we approach our nation’s 250th birthday: The truth of our God-given equality only became “self-evident” because generations of Americans embraced the nation’s Judeo-Christian foundation. This self-evidence can only fade if we forget why we are equal.
Ian Haworth is a syndicated columnist. You can find his work on Substack.