The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence reads as follows: “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.” But that equality of all is dismissed by Democrats because they see it as it is, a statement that we are all created the same and that we have the same rights, but circumstances and abilities intercede to make some more successful than others. They wish instead for “equity,” that is to say, equality not of creation, but of result.
This is rubbish. The idea has been around for decades in education. Years ago, Paris High School bought into the then current fad called “outcome-based education.” Outcome-based education strove for equity of results, rather than recognizing a child’s equal right to succeed or fail. When we taught a lesson, we were to very carefully instruct the students on exactly what would be on the test. Then, if a student did not pass the test, we had to reteach and give him/her a second opportunity to take the test at a later date. And “A” on the second test was considered equal to an “A” on the first test. Not only was this unfair to those who studied for the first test and passed it, but students, being the crafty little souls that they are, quickly figured out how to work the system. Was there a ballgame the night before the test, a long play rehearsal, a dance? Then a teacher could expect a slew of failures and students wanting to retake the test. And even though we knew they had never studied the first time, we had to give it to them again.
But the real problem with equity goes back to the Declaration of Independence. We are created equal with “certain unalienable (indisputable) rights,” including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The pursuit of happiness. Happiness itself is not a right. If you think being wealthy would make you happy, you are only guaranteed by God the right to try to obtain that wealth. It is not yours by right.
And this is very understandable if you think about it logically. No two individuals are the same. Some make good doctors and nurses. Some don’t. Everyone in my family was either a nurse or a teacher and because I could not stand the idea of poking someone with a needle, I chose teaching. And I think I have been very good at it. Some people work well with their hands and do well in jobs in construction, in factories, or as plumbers and electricians. Some, like me, are all thumbs, and work better with our minds. Some have the personality to work with the public in stores, or even as politicians. Others have too quick a temper and find it impossible to smile when being asked a truly stupid question. Some have the genius of Albert Einstein, or Madame Curie, or the inquisitive minds and business acumen of a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates. But most of us don’t. Where would we be if we had had equity when we needed the telephone, the light bulb, the polio vaccine? We would have been ill and in the dark had these geniuses been kept from excelling because they were leaving the less gifted and less intelligent behind.
We all benefit from the success of the wealthy, whether through their inventions, the taxes they pay, the money they donate to charity, or the jobs they provide for the rest of us. How many people have jobs today because of Sam Walton, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates? Walmart has 2.3 million employees, Apple has 2.4 million employees, and Microsoft has 181,000 employees. Those three men alone have provided jobs for nearly 5 million people! Where would those people have been without them?
You cannot expect someone who is born with an IQ of 90 to compete with someone with an IQ of 120 or 150. But that does not mean that the individual with the IQ of 90 cannot hold a job, earn a living wage, and find happiness. But in order to succeed, any individual needs to be educated. In today’s world everyone needs at least a high school education with the ability to read and write reasonably correct English, to use a computer, and to do math. The problem with the equity that Democrats are calling for, is that they wish to continue to graduate black students from failing schools who do not have the skills to compete in this technological world, then push them into colleges where they will most certainly fail, and blame it all on white people, mostly conservative white people, In fact, it is their own Democrat-controlled cities that breed the failing schools and refuse parents the choice of sending their children to other schools where they can actually learn and prepare for a successful future. Is it white people holding them back? Yes, Democrat white people on the coasts and both white and black Democrats in power in their own cities!
But there is more to equity than the fact that you cannot really have equal results if you start out with very different individuals. Equity means that everyone should end up with the same wealth, the same social position in life. That is socialism. What always happens with socialism is that the people are sold on this idea that everyone will be equal in wealth and position and they imagine themselves to become equally wealthy as those who are selling them these lies. But in fact, everyone ends up being equally poor. It is only the elite who have all the wealth.
They always promise big, but the “Democrat elite leaders” never expect to join the rest of us riffraff in our equity! No, they are above us!
Think of the Pandemic if you don’t believe me. Californians were under a mask mandate early in the pandemic, but Democrat Governor Newsom was photographed more than once, eating in restaurants (which were closed by his order) with his friends (another no-no at the time) and unmasked. Democrat Governor Pritzker of Illinois, while cautioning the people of his state to stay home, sent his family to Florida (by airplane) on vacation and went himself to Wisconsin to visit his horse farm. Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently held a fund raiser (during another mask mandate in California) where she and the majority of the crowd who attended were not masked. When all beauty salons in Illinois were closed, Democrat Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot went to a salon to have her hair done. Her excuse was that as mayor, she needed to look her best! Democrat after Democrat ordered their people to do one thing and then blatantly did whatever they chose. After all, it was their rules, so they could break them, right?
That, folks is socialism. And socialism is equity, equality of result, not equality of opportunity. American airlines announced a few weeks ago that they would always have a person of color (the new catch phrase for someone who is not white) in the cockpit of their airplanes. I don’t want to fly American anymore. And no, I am not saying that only white men can fly airplanes! What I am saying is that I don’t care what skin color my pilot has. I only care if she or he is a skilled and experienced pilot. But an airline who chooses a pilot based on the color of that pilot’s skin rather than the expertise of that pilot to fly an airplane cares more for being “woke” that for the safety of its passengers!
We are all created equal in the sight of God. And under the Constitution of the United States, we are all equal before the law. Black only dorms and black only graduations are segregation, but the Supreme Court can do nothing until someone brings a suit. Perhaps parents in predominately black inner-city neighborhoods should band together and sue the government for not insuring that their children attend non-segregated schools, because Democrats have effectively re-segregated schools and colleges without blacks even noticing. Or better yet, white parents should sue on behalf of their children who are being segregated into white only schools, dorms, and graduation ceremonies. As long as we let Democrats push equity, we are going to slide slowly into socialism. Venezuela was once the richest country in South America. Now the profits from its oil reserves lines the pockets of the rulers and the people plaster their wall with money because to paper an entire room with it is cheaper than to buy wallpaper.
Socialism is a system that has failed in every country in which it has been tried and pretty well destroyed the country in the meantime. Don’t let it destroy America.