Originally posted by Lara Joelle Kent:
You know that this is a contradiction in itself? Because, if no person is inherently superior to any other, why is it that only "all men" were created equal?
There is no inherent contradiction, since the term "men" can also be used as a gender-neutral synonym for humanity. It has only been in the relatively recent past that the gender-neutral meaning has been deprecated. I make no claims about the original interpretation of the phrase, but when I cited it, I chose to use the gender-neutral interpretation of it. Under that interpretation, there is no contradiction.
As I mentioned before, I am aware that my country is not perfect and that it does not always live up to its ideals. I don't argue with that. Slavery was a horrendous part of that history. As I wrote previously, my post was not intended to be mindless flag-waving. (For that matter, IMHO, this MB is not the place either for flag-waving or flag-bashing of anyone's countries.) My intention was simply to answer the question you asked earlier about the meaning of the American Way.
As an aside, as happy as I am to see a "black" US president, I'm still waiting for a Mrs. President to be elected.
Frankly, I'd be happier if the best person were elected. I don't care what race, gender, etc. the individual is. I will rejoice not when a female president, or a <name your category> president is elected. I'll truly rejoice when we get past all that nonsense and simply vote based on who has the best vision for the future and will be best able to implement their vision, without regard to irrelevancies such as race, gender, ethnicity, etc.
Joy,
Lynn
