It was many years after 1776 when the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence came to be seen as the central idea — the sentence declaring 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.”
Today, with King George’s misrule largely forgotten or forgiven, it is those two key concepts — liberty and equality — that continue to both guide and bedevil Americans. On the face of it, and especially in Jefferson’s eloquent words, they seem such clear, fundamental principles, yet 234 years later, there is still vehement disagreement about what they mean and how to apply them.
(READ the Op-Ed in the LA Times)