“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.”
— Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Of course the founders of our country did not wholly agree that all men were created equal. Certainly not Black Americans, or Indigenious people, or even women for that matter. The expansion to include people of color and women would take another 144 years to achieve.
But the idea that equality was self-evident was a radical idea and it was the very idea that serves as the cornerstone of our republic. In 1863, Lincoln was forced to remind Americans that “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” And America was forced to fight a war to prove that point.
We are more divided now than at any point in our post-Civil War history save maybe during the Vietnam War. Many have placed party over country and demand fealty to party in order to prove loyalty.
And so in 2022, we are at another crossroads in America and 246 years after the Declaration of Independence was written, we again must look back to the wisdom of Lincoln that “a house divided cannot stand.”
Let us look to the founding of our country for inspiration. It is “we the people” who consent to be governed. It is “we the people” who seek to form a more perfect union.
We cannot allow foreign entities and even our own politicians to seek to divide us. Our founders who signed the declaration pledged their lives, their fortunes and their honor to defend the basic idea of equality.
And so, while we should seek to ensure that our elections are secure, we should not fall prey to those who, without proof, claim that there is widespread fraud, especially here in Johnson County and Wyoming, where we know and trust all the election judges and elected officials. Let us not fall prey to those who only seek to destroy with no plans to build. Let us not allow those who stand to gain from conflict to drive a wedge between us.
This country was born of freedom and equality. As we reflect on our shared history, we should focus on how we can become more unified. It could be as simple as practicing a bit more grace and patience. We are all Americans. We all care about our country. And we have achieved our greatest accomplishments when we worked together.
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