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"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 t
by chernevik 5y ago
"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."
Let me know when a country comes up with a better idea.
- SeanLuke 5y agoEngland came up with that idea, not the US. Specifically, John Locke.
- hpoe 5y agoJohn Locke was the architect with the PowerPoint the Founding Fathers put into code.
- NikolaeVarius 5y agoIf we are going to continue being silly about this, the Founding Fathers copy-pasted the code from French Stack Overflow
- setum 5y agoThey came up with the idea in 17xx, but fine print said: to be implemented later… And by ‘men’, they certainly didn’t mean to include women.
- chernevik 5y agoYou have to start somewhere.
- hairofadog 5y agoWe had slavery for almost half of our existence, we’re only just barely removed from segregation, and we’re tilting like a jenga tower into authoritarianism. We’ve had our moments, but I think the idea of American Exceptionalism was only ever an idea.
- chernevik 5y agoPerhaps. If so, the world is watching: "It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind." -- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers #1
- timbit42 5y agoAlso by men they meant landowners.
- krapp 5y agoSpecifically white landowners.
- toiletfuneral 5y agoWasn’t that was written by slaveholders? But yeah, really great rhetoric
- cjbenedikt 5y agoAs we all know: ideas don't matter - execution does.
- croes 5y agoThen how was slavery possible? BTW The dignity of man is inviolable.
- chernevik 5y agoRead this: "Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings"