“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...”
Pure and simple, the Left today—the Democratic Party in America and every other Leftist organization on this earth—is trying to overturn the American Revolution of 1776, and return mankind to the rule of “kings” and “lords.” They won’t call themselves that—yet—but the principle is the same: they rule, you obey. And if you don’t, the gulag (at best) awaits you. Or maybe Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice.
This is clear from the vicious attacks on early Americans and those who played such a vital part in establishing modern Western Civilization. Christiopher Columbus is hated by the Left. Our Founders were “slave owners,” “they stole Indians’ land,” “they were elitists”; so, we get the 1619 Project, CRT, “white supremacy”—every bit of this an attempt to destroy America’s Founders in the eyes of the people and reverse the American Revolution. And to replace it with a new caste of leaders—totalitarian to the core—who will have total power. They, not our Constitution, will tell you what you can and cannot do. Their government will give you whatever rights they want you to have, not you giving government the rights it has. Anyone who doesn’t believe this is modern Leftism has never studied the history of the 20th century. Or lived in China for 10 years like I did and had to face constantly. It isn’t just a “theory,” folks. It is the way most of the people in human history have lived, the way billions live now, and the way the Democratic Party in America wants Americans to live. They will tell you what they will allow you to do. They can’t get away with it yet, though. But that is the way they think.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” As my previous article noted, the “equality” of man was not “self-evident” to ANYBODY in 1776 except the men who founded America. But what did Jefferson mean by “all men are created equal”? Well, we can know for sure some things he did NOT mean. He did not mean all people are economically equal; the Founders owned slaves, a practice that was common in nearly all parts of the world for most of human history. Slavery isn’t uncommon in history, folks; freedom is. People of the world are not “economically” equal, and never will be.
Nor did Jefferson mean that “all men” are equal in their talents, abilities, intellect, or a thousand other ways in which humans are (thankfully) different and unequal. I can’t throw a baseball like Nolan Ryan could. I could never be a quarterback like Tom Brady. I don’t have the brains of Albert Einstein (no comments here, please). My bank account will never match Elon Musk’s. I can’t write like Tom Clancy. People are different. We all have our own talents and abilities. That is “self-evident” now, and it was “self-evident” to Thomas Jefferson and the men who founded America. It’s where we got it.
So, what did Jefferson mean about equality? Well, actually, he told us: “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We are all equal in that we have an “unalienable” (natural, God-given) right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Everybody is “endowed” (not born) with these rights. Yes, to us, our Founders sound a little hypocritical when it comes to slavery. But again, to be fair to them, we must look at history from before 1776, not from 2024. History moves slowly and it took a while for these great principles to sink in, even in America. It took almost 200 years before every American had “equality before the law,” (a concept the Left is desperately trying to take away again). But the crucial point is—the point that the Left totally denies and ignores—it was these principles, enumerated by Jefferson in the Declaration, that LED to the abolition of slavery everywhere, and that eventually produced the civil rights all Americans now (theoretically) enjoy. History is a marathon, not a sprint. And after thousands of years of entrenched hierarchical thinking all over the world, it is no surprise to any intelligent person that it took awhile to overthrow that system and produce the equality of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” which is the hallmark of the United States of America.
But, the Left will never allow these historical truths because they WANT to return to hierarchy with themselves on top. Yes, all Americans are equal under the law—except those the Left, in their creation of a legal double-standard, wants to silence and exclude from political participation. Hillary Clinton denied the outcome of the 2016 election and got a two-year governmental hearing about it. Donald Trump denied the outcome of the 2020 election, and got indicted, and many of his followers are jailed for a minor scrap in front of the Capitol, which belongs to THEM, the people. This is hierarchy—the ruling class, the self-anointed nobility, oppressing those who oppose them. It is EXACTLY what our Founders rebelled against. It is EXACTLY what the Democratic Party wants to return America to. A colony. With them in control. Bow to your lords and obey.
Thomas Jefferson and our Founders established the principle, denied in every Leftist government in the world, that nobody is born with a right to rule others. Governments “[derive] their just powers from the consent of the governed.” People are endowed with rights from God. Governments are endowed with rights from the people. But tell that to Xi Jinping. Or Joe Biden.
The Democratic Party wants a new American revolution—one that will overthrow the old one. Conservatives are fighting to conserve the principles of the last great hope of mankind.
Are you watching my “Rise of Leftism” historical survey on my substack mklewis929.substack.com? You don’t want to miss it or more articles on Leftism, our Founding Fathers, and true freedom, along with Biblical studies. Follow me on Twitter: @thailandmkl. Read my western novels, Whitewater , River Bend, Return to River Bend, and Allie’s Dilemma all available on Amazon.