Author: daniel

Our Founding Fathers had thousands upon thousands of years full of sentences to choose from. More sentences, in all that time, than grains of sand. Sentences from Socrates and Plato, from Confucius and Buddha. Sentences from Jesus and Mohammed. They had the sentences of all the wise and learned, from rulers and artists, titans and slaves. Whole libraries filled with important, profound sentences.

Of all those sentences, throughout all of time, this is the one sentence they chose as America’s Founding Principle. This, is that one grain of sand, they all agreed, was the one above all others.

This was the one sentence they chose to build a new nation on, to start a whole new world on. It must be more than important. This one sentence. It must be more than profound.

They placed this one sentence as the first statement of our first document on the first day this country was born. I can’t imagine a more important place for a sentence to hold. The founding principle to the birth of a new nation? The very bedrock of a whole new country. This must be more than important. This sentence, more than profound.

Our founders must have known this sentence could not be just important. Could not be just simply profound. This sentence must be much, much more than that. This sentence must be on a whole new level, on a whole new plane.

This one sentence must announce a new evolution for mankind. A whole new way of thinking. A true New World.

I would think this evolutionary sentence would have a more prominent place in our lives. That it would deserve more respect, would deserve more than discussion. We hear of important things quite often. We discuss profound topics now and then. But evolutionary, that should be all encompassing. Ingrained and touching all that we do. Affecting all our decisions. It should be who we are. Our very core. Our essence. When you think of America, this is the sentence you should think of.

This one sentence should be the definition of what an American is. Of how an American thinks. Of how an American acts. This one sentence defines America!

We will judge a person based on their actions. We will look below the surface. We will see you as an individual. Your color, your nationality, your religion, your creed, all do not matter. What you do matters. Your heart is what matters to Americans. This is our Founding Principle. It’s what Americans do. It is the goal of America itself. This is real Freedom. This is true Liberty. And it welcomes all who are created equal.

This one sentence. This one grain of sand. Above all others. Is America.

I would think that Republicans, Democrats, Independents alike could agree on our Founding Principle, our common bond.  Much of their platforms have to do with personal Liberty and personal responsibility.  The essence of our Founding Principle encompasses both.  We all have equal Liberty.  We all have equal responsibility.  The varied degrees of balance between Liberty and responsibility being the only sticking points between them.

We know, if applied, “…all men are created equal…” bestows Liberty to the individual.  You will not be judged by your race, religion, nationality or creed.  You are free to make your own way.  Unshackled from prejudice, with equal opportunity for all.

This Principle, if applied, also bestows responsibility to that same individual.  Now, only you take the credit or the blame for your success or failure.  Your ancestry, now is no measure of you.  Your actions, the only gauge of character.  The responsibility of your own life, in your hands.

With our equal Liberty.  Comes our equal responsibility.

I believe most Americans can agree on this foundational premise.  The Liberty part we acknowledge to all people.  The responsibility part to all is required.  Each of us has to employ both parts.  One gear, by itself, can do nothing but spin.

When we don’t apply both parts in our lives, these two gears unmeshed, nothing will move.  One side disengaged with, “How can I be held responsible when my Liberty is not acknowledged?”  Another spinning with, “How can this respect and regard be acknowledged when responsibility is not taken?”  It’s the “chicken and the egg” thing.  Which comes first, the Liberty or the responsibility?

My take is the chicken comes first.  The chicken has choice, already breathes free.  But both must have the other for chickens to survive.

I think that the belief in, the Hope for, and the reality of Liberty must come first.  Liberty already breathes free.  Liberty has more choice.  Liberty for all must become a given.  No longer any doubt.  Our Creed truly ingrained.  Pre-judging recognized and controlled.  Until this is proclaimed and adhered to throughout the land, the resulting responsibility cannot be expected.  We must acknowledge the lack of diversity in private construction companies, board rooms, higher public office, just to name a few.  Jobs and status, opportunities granted, based on who you know or the color of your skin, is Liberty denied.  Jobs and status, opportunities denied because of the color of your skin, or your nationality, gender or creed, is indeed, Liberty denied.  Face this.  Fix this.  The boss already breathes free.  The boss has more choice.  This responsibility, right next to Liberty, required in our Founding Principle.

But for those, the victims of Liberty denied, we must concede the responsibility required for Liberty to exist.  My welfare, now in my hands.  The excuse of “nothing I can do about it” has at least, been fading, compared to past generations.  The Liberty of the vote, our most powerful Right, is here, right now.  But the responsibility of the vote is not. I know because I have voted in North St. Louis County for over twenty years.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Besides the boom in 2008 and the lighter pop in 2012, the voting booths are quite empty.  When the turnout for every election before, in between and after, are all disgraceful, when we disregard our most important responsibility, our vote, then all of us who hope for the fruition of our Founding Principle lose.  For it wasn’t the Russians stealing the elections, it wasn’t the Tea Party or “the man” who took these elections.  It was those who stayed home, those who just gave it away.  They should all be ashamed.  This Freedom is now a given, but respect and regard still must be earned.

Get out and vote, our first responsibility.  Realize how much America and the world needs our voice.  Our vote is that important, worth all the trouble or inconvenience.  Voting is easy compared to the cost.  Trump-like in power throughout most the land, because we’ve stayed home.  Our health care now in doubt, safety nets disappearing, our entire environment deregulated, our very Founding Principle tossed aside, because we stayed home.  Our vote, our responsibility deserted.  This blame now, all ours.  We weren’t cheated out of voting.  We weren’t denied the Right.  We just stayed home.

Liberty and responsibility, neither can exist without the other.

I would think 80% of Americans could agree on this, the essence of our Founding Principle.  Of course, as we all know, there are folks who still would be Loyalists or separatists or master racers, but I think the stars and stripes have flown high long enough to prove that most of us Americans hold true to the goal of treating people equal and fairly, of justice being blind, of our Founding Principle as our guiding beacon.  That this is the source of our American pride.  All equal in Liberty and responsibility.  That they must be “hand in glove”.

Maybe we can realize and agree we’re not there yet.  Maybe come to the realization that we all share the blame.  Maybe we can see the Liberty we have not granted and the responsibility we have not shouldered.

All sides have to concede this Liberty and responsibility and apply this in our actions.  Acknowledge this Liberty to all.  Recognize and control our pre-judging.

Accept the responsibility for all.  We must take action.  We can’t just stay home.  Know that we have to move towards the Promised Land, it doesn’t come to us.

Our Founding Principle, if applied, its two gears meshed and together, can move a whole world, if we all do our parts.

 

 

It’s common sense to want someone to guide us.  Someone has to be the boss.  Without a leader, chaos ensues with too many choices, too many voices.  It’s simply common sense.

It’s common sense to protect your Country from invaders.  It’s been mankind’s common sense to build forts and cities with walls.  To forge very countries to protect us from invaders.  It’s just common sense.

It’s common sense to stop criminals in their tracks.  Common sense to do whatever it takes to stop violent criminals before they hurt us.  Common sense for our personal safety to be the priority.

It’s just common sense to feel we’re not equal.  I’ve worked harder and sacrificed more than that person.  It’s common sense to feel that.  Common sense to know you can’t give away all the stuff you’ve earned.  That people won’t learn to be independent if everything is free.  Common sense to know, in Darwinian terms, the weak have to lose for the fittest to carry on.  Some are meant to die off.  It’s just common sense.

With all that, now I ask, is this what we as Americans are?  Are we common?  This has been the common way of mankind for all the centuries before America.  I thought we forged a New World.  I thought we broke free from common.  A New World, by definition, must be uncommon.  A New World built on uncommon Sense.

It takes uncommon sense to have no supreme leader or king.  Uncommon sense to stop invaders with an intangible wall of an idea, a Creed, a Founding Principle of equal and unalienable Rights.  Uncommon sense to give criminals and collaterals these same equal Rights.  Uncommon sense to think that taking care of all, makes us the Darwinian surviving species.

These were all new.  Not common at all.  None of it was common sense.  All of it was American uncommon sense.

America was not just a revolution.  America is an evolution of mankind.  To truly bring about a New World.  To break from the horrors of common.  To see if we could learn to stop hating and fighting and find the more important things to accomplish.

Yes, I know its common sense to know our Founding Principle won’t catch on.  Even my friends and family are understandably reserved.  Most of my bones know it’s a lost cause.  I know these words will only reach a few, when what this truly needs is billions.  Common sense tells me to just quit.  Common sense tells me to just let it be.

I don’t think I have common sense.  Maybe that’s why I’m not done yet.  Maybe that’s why I’ll buy more pens anyway.  It feels like I have an un-common sense.  Something that just won’t let me say, “This can’t be done, it’s impossible.  Why don’t I just give up?”

It does feel like uncommon sense.

And it feels very American.

 

“… all men are created equal…” is our Founding Principle. Don’t believe me. I didn’t come up with this. I have absolutely no credentials. Of course you shouldn’t believe me, you don’t know me. I’m just John Q. Simpleman.

I’m asking you to believe the Fathers of our country. I’m asking you to believe Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Franklin, Madison, Hancock. I’m asking you to believe all the Founding Fathers. They who wrote this one statement as the first statement in our first document on our nation’s first day. The very first statement when we declared our Independence. Declaring who we are and what we stand for. Our founders all signed and presented this declaration to the world on July 4, 1776 and the first statement in that first document said, “We hold these Truths to be self- evident that all men are created equal…” The Founding Fathers proclaimed this one statement merits above all others. Declaring this is our bedrock. Our country built on this foundation. They knew the suffering which would come from this declaration. They knew the pain and the sacrifices that would surely affect all of mankind from this proposition. And yet, they thought it that important, that imperative, they placed it as the Truth we hold. They were our Founding Fathers. They believed this as our Founding Principle. They believed this Cause worth all the sacrifices to come. I’m asking you to believe our Founding Fathers. Their credentials.

Don’t believe me. It was not me who gazed out upon the blood-soaked battlefield at Gettysburg. Knowing that tens of thousands had died and suffered here. Knowing that much more of this, this right before him, was still to come, yet placed this Principle in his first paragraph of his address to this nation, in the midst of this battlefield, “… a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Abraham Lincoln believed it that important, that imperative. He believed this Principle, amidst all the grief of those honored before him burning in his very soul, worth all this. He was there. I ask you to believe him. His credentials.

I’m asking you to believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Whose credentials lie higher and deeper than most of us can even imagine, who dreamed, “…that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it’s Creed: – ‘We hold these Truths to be self- evident that all men are created equal’.” Believe him. His credentials.

Don’t believe me.

 

I have this website. There’s your proof right there. I’m almost sixty, have no college education, can barely turn on a computer. I did run for political office, in seventh grade! It’s quite apparent I’m not a writer. Spellcheck doesn’t like me at all. I mow lawns to help balance the family budget for goodness sake. I should not have been the one to find that foundingprinciple.org was still open for the taking. Websites have been available for how long now? I don’t know, I don’t know anything about it. Isn’t there like a billion people on the web now? How is it possible I’ve got this website? I’ll tell you how. We have truly forgotten our Founding Principle and/or consider it irrelevant. The proof is right in front of you.

The learned should be speaking and writing of this. They should have this website. The historians, the sociologists, the psychologists, lawyers, politicians, microbiologists and philosophers. Even capitalists and flimflammers. Somebody other than me should have this website!

I don’t even want it. I don’t like or want attention. I’ve had enough drama. I’ve put in my 100,000 hours of work. I’m getting tired. I just want to relax with my family and pets. I’m good. I don’t need this. This is certainly no dream of mine, though I do recall a nightmare like this, except I think I was naked.

Uhh, where was I? Oh yeah, see, I’m nowhere near qualified. I know that. How is it, that no one smart has brought America’s Founding Principle to the forefront? There is only one Founding Principle and this occurred to no one? How is this possible?

It dawned on me eight years ago, the wind chimes have been ringing for decades, but the klaxon horn sounded with the dramatic rise of hate groups and overt racism brought out by the campaign and election of President Obama. Only those who refused to see it, didn’t see it. I thought this the perfect opportunity for the leaders, the pundits, the educators, to speak out, to bring up our Founding Principle. Instead, are those crickets chirping? Is that a tumbleweed? Nothing! (Or very little). I truly worried about the precedent set. What, if unchecked, could this bring about?

So I, empowered by the equality of “…all men are created equal…” scratched a couple of notes to my senator and representative, sent also to the major media outlets. Not for public view, just to ask them to please bring this up. No need to get back with me. Just a suggestion. Knowing certainly they’ve thought of this or they might not even read them or if they did, at least they got a chuckle out of my simple naivety. “What has our Founding Principle got to do with terrorism, with our crime in the streets, with our disappearing middle class, our national debt, our border issues? All of these problems of today, right now?  Hey Joe, this guy thinks America’s Founding Principle can fix it all, like some magic sentence. Let’s sell him some beans, huh! Heh-heh, Founding Principle, get real.”

That was seven years ago. The implications of “…all men are created equal…” still not discussed. This website still orphaned. I wrote a few more letters a year ago, each more strident than the previous. I gotta do something. This is now the wholesale absolution of our Founding Principle with the destruction of Individual Liberty of all those caught up in this immigrant and Muslim dragnet. This now, has to be as obvious as the nose on your face. Please discuss this Principle!

People are awake. The protests, mostly at Trump rallies, show that many do see a big problem. There were just so many problems with him, focus was next to impossible. I now sent out the compilations of my letters to thirty or so politicians and news agencies. Please bring up our Founding Principle! Please, somebody ring that Liberty Bell!!

I’ve lived my life by the rule, if you want something done, do it yourself. So, OK, let’s try this internet thing. I looked up foundingprinciple.com, it squiggly red lined underneath it. “Did you mean foundingprinciples?” I said “no, just the one. The first one.” Sorry Charlie. Can this be? We have all forgotten our Founding Principle so much, no one has even gotten this simple website? The scale of my quest just multiplied. Jiminy guys! I shook my head. This is further proof we have forgotten our Founding Principle.

Again, I know, if you want something done, do it yourself. But I also know, if you want something done right, it takes a team. I’m going to register this website, voice my reasons why our Founding Principle is so important, voice the imperative. I will tell Joe that if the world knows we stand for equality for all, not just capitalism, terrorists’ recruitment would lessen. If folks knew they had an equal opportunity, they could have hope, it would lessen crime in the streets. If “…all men were created equal…” was applied, the poor could rise up and the rich would feel duty towards others. With this high ground as the example, other countries could keep their citizens safe and home if they do the same. Our international regard would soar if what we stood for was our Founding Principle. That Joe, is what our Founding Principle can fix, yes, today. Right now. It’s not magic.

To do things right, it takes a team. With this website I will ask the people of the world to spread the words. If nothing else, just ask people, “What is America’s Founding Principle?” You don’t even need an answer. Just plant the seed. People can’t help but think about it. And you cannot unring a bell. Even if this bell has a crack in it.

All of us need to see this as our patriotic duty, to integrate this into our lives, to think about it ourselves. We need to bring it up, to co-workers, to family, to strangers, to opponents. This is the goal of America itself. The freedom you can achieve when you give everyone, even folks you can’t see, folks you will never see, their Individual Liberty with “…all men are created equal…”. (It means you get it, too.)

I wrote my notes, my paragraphs, all to and for myself. To battle my struggle with word wits. Most often, five minutes or five days after an uncomfortable situation, I say, “I should have said this or that.” Always too late. Always to no avail. Reading over my notes, over and over, committing them to memory, has helped clarify my thoughts, has helped in my confidence. It’s no cure, I am an amateur, I can be cowardly. But a billboard I saw coming back from Alabama over Thanksgiving hit me hard. It said, “Evil will flourish when good men stay silent.” I am good people. I can no longer stay silent. And I know, we are good people. We can no longer stay silent.

This discussion can no longer be taboo. We need to let this genie out of the bottle. Please read my letters. I know they are crude, amateurish, even child-like, I’m aware. Put your touches on them, fix them, no patents pending. But the essence is there.

Please remind ourselves and the world. We do hold these Truths. We are dedicated to this Proposition. We will live out the true meaning of our Creed, that all men are created equal.

This is America’s greatest tool. America’s greatest gift.

America’s Founding Principle.

Please, spread the words!

 

There are no authorized ads here.  No product placement.  I’m not selling anything on this website.  I had the comments on, but apparently, that allows marketeers to sneak on.  I don’t wish for endorsements or for a professional design.  This website is created solely to remind us who we are, as Americans.  It exists so we can remember who we are.  To remind us what most of us truly have in common.  It is dedicated to most of us Americans, who want these states united.

We hear enough about how divided we are.  We seem to feel it more and more.  We have so many differences of opinion, differences of religion, of income, of race and creeds.  Differences of work ethics or duty to self or others.  So many differences we see all the time.  So many divisions.

We need to hear from the other side.  We need to hear and remember what unites us.  We need to hear about our common core.  We need to hear and remember how important our unity is.

First we must realize how many of us there are.  Most all of us want to live in peace.  We’re not out to hurt anyone, we take no joy from the suffering of others.  We just want our family and friends.  We don’t want to live in fear.  We want some security and the freedom to pursue our own happiness.  That’s all most of us want.  Most people are good people.  Of course there’s one or two crazy drivers out there, but there are thirty drivers who are not.  Thirty drivers we hardly notice.  Most of us are in that thirty.  We’re not flashy or loud, we don’t scream for attention.  I know the one or two can be louder than all thirty put together.  That attention can color our thoughts, sway our whole opinions, despite the math.  But no matter what, it’s still thirty to one, no matter how loud that one.  Loud does not equal more.  Good folks far outweigh those few.  We’re just harder to notice.  We need to look a little harder, to look beyond the flashy or loud to really see We, the People.  To see how many of us there really are.

In my kid’s grade school, they had an, all too brief, lesson on anti-bullying techniques. One, in particular, the key.  The math.  One or two bullies, one or two victims, ten people around not bullies or victims.  When the ten people, not bullied, stand up, when the ten find the courage to stand together, resolutely, it’s now, twelve to two.  The bullies will shrink, their cowardice exposed.

The key is for those ten to stand up, even though the bully hasn’t gotten to them yet.  Even though they’re OK right now. For the bullies will flourish if the good stay silent.  But when the good stand together, when we realize there are much more of us than we, or they even thought, we realize how strong we are. Then we realize it doesn’t have to be this way.  The bullies do not have to win.  We realize we don’t have to live like this.  This goes for the schoolyard, it goes for the neighborhood, for the city, for the whole country.  The silent people of good conscience must stand up for the few oppressed.

Bullies, criminals and tyrants can only rule if we don’t find the courage to stand up, together.

This truth hurts, which is why you know it’s the truth. When we stand, now the bullies, the criminals, the rulers can see us and maybe I’ll be next.  These fears are absolutely real.  All our lives, precious.  The bullies can now get a few that stand up, as an example to the rest.  Maybe even many, as an example to all.  This has been a slavery to mankind since time began.  It’s been the tool of the powerful since the first block of stone laid.  “I’ll get you if you try to stand against me” back then.  The same as “snitches get stitches” today.

But a bully’s worst nightmare, a criminal’s biggest worry, these rulers “sword of Damocles” is, and has been, if We the People stand up, together.  For We the People to be united.  This is a tyrant’s greatest fear.  We the People’s greatest tool.

This is our country.  This is the first country created, not for the rich and powerful or the loud and the flashy.  This country created for all of us to be counted as equal.  For all of us to find the courage to stand up, together, and rule ourselves.  Together against the tyrant, against a ruler, against the criminal and the bully.  Only together, resolutely, can We the People triumph over these forces.  And truly be Free.  This is the key our Founding Fathers knew.  This still the key, to this day.

We know how divided we are.  We see it all the time.  We see how powerful, how violent the bullies can be.  From the neighborhood and City Hall, to corporations all the way to the White House.  It seems like every day now, we look with more and more suspicion towards one another.  We all worry about the future ending soon, more now, than ever before.  The History Channel itself tells us about it every single week.  So many building bunkers, with truckloads of weapons, the hate groups and covert dog whistles.

We see so much corruption everywhere we turn.  Of course the criminals and addicts, politicians and marketeers since time began.  But now we have religious leaders, the esteemed head coach, the beloved comic, the Chief of Police.  It’s like now, you can’t trust anybody.  It seems we are more afraid of each other now, than we have been for a long time.  And we see it getting worse.  All over the globe.  We see Hope fading, more suffering to come.  And we just can’t stop it.  Our divisions have us paralyzed.  We just can’t come together over any one thing.  Is there anything we can unite under?  Anything that most all of us, Christians and Muslims, Republicans and Democrats, pro-choice and anti-abortionists, gun lovers and pacifists, blacks and whites, rich and poor, young and old, can possibly unite under?  Is there anything to see in each other, to know with each other, to have in common with each other?  Anything we can look at each other with, and nod, respectfully, knowingly?  Anything to say, “We are one”?  Is there something to smile about to a stranger who is different than me?  Is there anything to bring us together to fight the bullies, to fight the criminals, to fight the tyrants?

Yes Americans, we have a common core.

I know we can’t see bedrock, we can forget it’s there.  But just because we’ve forgotten, doesn’t mean that it’s gone.  It’s still here, still just as strong and it’s waiting for us.  We all have a tie that binds.  We all have a common bond.  A bond we must remember.  We all have America’s bedrock.  We the People have America’s Founding Principle, forgotten, lost, hopefully, not abandoned.  It’s been there, waiting for us, since July 4^th, 1776.

This website solely designed to remind us of that bond, that common core.  To remind us what unites us.  To find this Principle once again.

We know all too well that which divides us.  Let’s hear the discussions on what unites us.  Let’s remind ourselves of our common goal, our goal as Americans.  We are all created equal, no matter how different we look, how different we think and act, most of us not loud or flashy.  As Americans, each and every one of us can look each other in the eye, can give each other a nod of respect, “…all men are created equal…”, our common bond acknowledged.

We can be united.  We must be united.  The bullies are still out there.  The criminals still lurk.  The powerful growing stronger.

As the lesson from grade school, We the People must find the courage, the support and the resolve to stand, together.  To look around, see and notice the thirty of us good drivers, in front, beside and behind us.  We have to stand up ourselves and be noticed.  Weak as we are as one person, we can take on the bullies and the criminals, the powerful and the tyrants.  Stronger than them all, united.

Please, take these words the right way – United, we Stand.  Bullies do not have to win.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  We don’t have to live like this.  Stand, we’re there with you.  We the People, with “…all men are created equal…” our rally cry.

My incentive?  I Love my two kids, all the way up to all of mankind.  All those created equal.  There’s a lot of us.  Most of us, good people.  If we stand up, every single one of us, and we have each other’s back, then we truly are the United States.  It’s why this country was created.  This is the true Freedom our Founders envisioned.

United We Stand.  Stand.

 

“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.”

Of all the sentences on the whole planet, throughout the history of mankind, this is the one sentence our Founding Fathers chose as the first statement in our first document on July 4^th, 1776, our first day. This one proposition declaring who we are and what we stand for. This one sentence defines an American. This is what everyone’s first thought should be when they see an American.  Once prompted, we all know, this is where we start.

This is America’s one Founding Principle. This is America’s Essence. The very genesis of our beloved Individual Liberty.  Every single one of us declared different and unique.  This is how we are all equal.  This our common bond.  A tribe of one, one tribe of all.

“All are created equal” should be America’s rally cry – cheered on by hundreds of millions of patriotic Americans.

This website is dedicated to remind us who we are.  To ask the question, “How important is our Founding Principle to us?” It is dedicated to stress the magnitude of this Principle’s importance, to stress that it truly warrants demanding the ultimate discussion that America and the world needs to have. It is dedicated to remind us to prioritize this Principle. This is not some Supreme Court decision, not a sacred Amendment, this is not even our over-arching Constitution. This is what all of that is built upon. This is our very Foundation and it has been forgotten, lost, abandoned or reasoned away.

If we wish to remain a world leader, we must remember what got us here in the first place. We must remember that our strength comes from this Principle, not from hardware and steel.  We must remember who we are.  We must find the heart of America again.  We must stay the course of our beloved country.  As Americans, we must reason for our Founding Principle, not against it.  This is our choice.  Are we indeed the New World or do we go back to the ways of the old world?

This website is dedicated to ask the question – “What does ‘all men are created equal’ even mean?”  Why it’s so important.  How it relates to our everyday life.  The possible potential of its implementation, and, as history shows, the likely consequences of ignoring it.  That one simple, yet most complex and profound sentence. The very bedrock of America on which all else is built. The genius of our forefathers barely fathomable.

Tens of thousands fought and died to create this nation based on this principle. Our Civil War cemeteries bear the souls of hundreds of thousands brave Americans who fought and died to preserve this principle. Countless others, before and after, have sacrificed their lives and their fortunes for this one principle.

Yet, how much do we speak of this noble cause for which so much has been sacrificed? You can listen for it yourself.  How often do we hear discussions on news or talk shows? How often do we read articles in magazines or newspapers on America’s Founding Principle? Around friends or family?  How often do we simply hear the words, “…all men are created equal…” or, “unalienable”?  We don’t. It’s almost or actually is taboo.

I’m sure there is more to it than this, but I believe most of us, if not all, have a collective sub-conscience guilt. We all have prejudices. We haven’t completely gotten the “all men are created equal” thing yet. We can’t help pre-judging based on past experiences. Some of us more than others, but we all do it. It’s human, it’s in our survival DNA. Something different equals danger. Anyone who says they’re not biased is in denial or lying. But most of us know, down deep, we’re not there yet and we don’t want to admit it.

I think if we all face this, realize it in ourselves and others. If we finally see that our Founding Principle is the goal we are dedicated to, and that 1776 was only the kickoff. Then we can have this most imperative national discussion.

For we have reached a tipping point. Many politician’s very platform and many of the millions who support it, overtly mock our Founding Principle. The Principle which grants us all our beloved Individual Rights.  Banning people based on religion? Grouping all Mexicans as one? If millions of People’s Individual Liberty can be flushed away and that’s OK, then who are we? We have completely forgotten our Founding Principle. This is America’s Essence being burned while the crowds cheer. It could just as well have been our flag.

If we cannot draw the line here, at our very Founding Principle – there is no other “where then?” after that.

Do we allow tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, countless others before and after to have died in vain? Do we allow government of the people, by the people, and for the people to perish from this earth? All of America is built on our Founding Principle. We too, owe it our full measure of devotion.

If we truly Love America, at its very foundation, from our ultimate bedrock, at her very core.  If we truly Love who we are meant to be as Americans, then this is our patriotic duty.  Do not let her go silently into the night.  We must ask ourselves and every American you can – “What is America’s one Founding Principle?”  Think about and discuss the most important sentence in history.  If nothing else, just this simple request every single one of us can do.  Say the words out loud, “…all men are created equal…”  “America’s one Founding Principle.”   Please, just make people hear the words once again. For no one can unring our Liberty Bell, even if it has a crack in it.

It wasn’t the beautiful love shared creating me. It wasn’t even all the tenderness, the compassion, patience and discipline given, despite all my trials, in raising me. My parents’ greatest gift to me, alongside life itself, was true Freedom.

As a child, I had no concept of this. My parents, of course, gave us the basics. “Don’t hit your brother.” “You’re gonna clean up this mess you made!” “The cat is not a toy!!” You know, basic civilization things. Simple rules, not entirely adhered to, but very much set. Consistantly. As the third of four kids, I saw rules existed in our home. It was a given. I also saw some rules had fluidity. “OK, if you boys are gonna fight, take it outside!” And some rules did not. “The cat is still not a toy!!” They were serious about one, you don’t cross that line. The other, it depends on the circumstances.

Ninety-five percent of these rules fell into the latter category. My parents were wonderful judges. They applied the rules fairly, with gentle, yet strong hands. My brother and I would have to work it out between us. My room didn’t have to be totally spic and span. But if I chase the cat around the house again, I’m getting another spanking!!

They taught us two different levels of rules. They drew a line between absolute and negotiable. The absolutes were few and absolute. I absolutely knew, in this house, I was not allowed to hit my brother with a stick, even if he deserved it. I absolutely knew, in this house, you do not drop the cat from the second floor window to see if she lands on her feet. These rules were absolute and boy, did they mean it. You could really see the difference. There was no smiling, no gentle touch. Breaking these rules truly disappoints Dads. Breaking these rules even makes Moms cry. These rules were few. These rules were absolute.

One of these absolute rules, one I will never be able to thank them enough for. One I did not understand why, the implications not delved into. But Dad was serious. Mom would cry. In this house, we did not say the “n” word. Period. I didn’t know why, the reasons still obscure. It just always was. You will work it out with your brother without killing him. You will treat living creatures with care and respect, and prejudice is not acceptable. Period. In this house, these are our principles. We do not go below that line. These are absolute rules. Of these rules, my Dad was serious. Mom would cry.

My brother and the cat may disagree with me, but I believe my parent’s greatest gift of all was that “no ‘n’ word” rule. Because with that rule, my parents lit the path to true Freedom, just like that. They opened a whole new world for us. A world without blinders. The view, now panoramic. With that rule, they gave us the Liberty of the Individual, our own and all others. The derogatory grouping of all as one, now forbidden. The Essence of America’s Founding Principle absolute in this house.

They gave us the gift of each person, each individual, each story, unique. Each person no longer just a blur. This is the world they opened up for us by this rule. This they ingrained into us as a part of our life. A now, truly automatic part of our being. This absolute is their greatest gift to us.

As kids, we saw the first thing this rule did. It made us aware that prejudice even existed. You cannot fight what you cannot see. We heard the difference in some families, in some people. They did say the “n” word. And we noticed. Without that rule, we probably wouldn’t have even noticed. But with that rule, we could recognize prejudice. We could hear it, we could see it. This just doesn’t feel right. This disappoints Dads. This make Moms cry. We were, at least now, acutely aware prejudice exists. This rule gave us that step ahead. A sight advantage we didn’t even know we had. This rule allowed us to be able to see prejudice in others and eventually, most importantly, above all, recognize it in ourselves, the next step towards true Freedom.

Myself, my siblings, the path now lit, approached it as the unique individuals we each are. Big sister, always thought things out, made right choices, chose her friends wisely, Big brother, always the brave and outspoken, chose to fight against it, peer pressure be damned. Little sister, always had her natural kindness to help guide her.  Myself, shamefully, was the one to truly hurt and disappoint my Dad. I made my Mom cry. This, my debt I now can never repay.

But this is how strong this gift is. This is how everlasting and ingrained this gift is. Through the few years it took for me to be aware, through the many, way too many, years I quietly ignored. Through the shameful times of even joining in, it never felt right. It always hurt to hear it. It has always hurt to see it. It has never tasted right coming from my mouth. Ever. No matter how justified I thought I was. I knew my Dad would be disappointed. I knew my Mom would cry.

My parents’ greatest gifts. They showed us what Love is. But I think, most importantly, they showed us what Hate looks like. They must have known that Hate can hurt much more than Love ever can. They taught us not only how to Love, but how to see Hate in others, and most importantly, above all, within ourselves.  For this is true Freedom.  This is my parents’ greatest gift.

 

All are created equal.  How do you make that fun?  How do you make it sound catchy, to maybe give it pizzazz?   To somehow try make it sing?  People don’t seem to fall in Love with it.  Not often a welcome guest.  It always brings a, “well” or a “but”.  It always looks like it tastes bad.

Whether the “perp” or the  ”vic”, even those who think they’re neither, when mentioned, most will try to change the subject or maybe hear their wife calling.  Others will just build up to mad.  It seems there’s no in between.  No one ever “wants to go there”.  We act like it is something that divides us, instead of the one thing which truly unites us.  There’s no discussion of what it could even mean.  So unabashed or ashamed, or just real angry.  I think most of us would rather drink mud.

What is it about America’s Founding Principle that makes it so hard to shine up?  There’s got to be a psychological reason.  I know I’m not a doctor, but I have played doctor before.  So.  I prescribe we all get some kinda therapy, because it’s something we sure have to cure.  We run away or attack promoting Hope for all Mankind.  There’s something real wrong about that.

It might just be a marketing thing.  Maybe I’ll write Coke-a-Cola.  Maybe they can teach the world to sing this.  Certainly there’s an angle for Hope, equal Justice and Opportunity somewhere.  No, maybe not, they don’t even rhyme.  Nothing rhymes with Justice.  Just us.

I don’t see why this won’t sell.  The whole Country, the World, a customer base.  I know for every one of us, it’s our one common bond.  All, in our own Individual way.  You’d think a T-shirt with that could sell.  That most of us could actually relate to it.  You’d think you’d be proud to wear that shirt.  It should have our flag right beside it.  As patriotic as a T-shirt can be.  I wonder why it won’t sell.

Maybe it’s too expensive.  We know it certainly will cost.  We’ve shed blood, sweat and tears for our comforts.  We know we’ve earned our rewards.  Equal Opportunity for all will cost me.  You know it gets down to that.  Many will not be deserving.  It will surely finance bad behavior.  Wait, which side was I talking about?  I guess, at least, vice follows our Founding Principle, an equal opportunity exploiter.

I think the main reason this doesn’t sell too well is because it’s thought to be impossible.  We can’t change Mankind.  This is just the way it is.  We can work on the details and adjust here and there.  But we can’t change the way Mankind is.  Face this and just make the best of it.  Face this.  America can’t change Mankind?

But we already have.

Our Freedoms unheard of before America.  Democracy, Human Rights, not even a dream.  Now, around the World, Freedom can be imagined.  Hope can live in places never thought possible.  America did this.  We led the way.  We already have been that shining beacon.  Our light has shone around the World.  We’ve already changed Mankind.  Mankind can indeed be changed.  It’s not impossible.  We’ve done it before.  The World is a better place now.  The World is a better place because of us.  America’s led the way.  Not with some magical dirt and rocks.  We’ve led the World as the first Country to declare, “All are created, with equal, unalienable Rights” as our Founding Cause.  We’ve already changed Mankind.  Mankind can be changed, we’ve seen it.  America has brought the World closer to Peace.  Suffering has been reduced because of us.  Hope has a chance because of us.

You’d think this product would sell out fast.  An essential component of all our goods.  That every person would want to have it.  As easy as selling ice-fueled heaters to Arctic dwellers.  I wonder why it won’t sell.

I really don’t get it.  To me, the brilliance so bright, I am blinded. (I can hardly see anything else)   The genius of our Founding Fathers, obvious as the nose on my face (if you know me, well, you know).  I can see how far-reaching this Principle can be.  It’s where America starts, its means and its ends.  Each person with unalienable equal Rights.  That America embodies this Hope for All Mankind.  That America stands for All Lives Matter.

I think Hope is fun.  You’d think we could make that sexy.  You’d think that Hope would appeal to most.  You’d think a lot of folks out there would buy it.  Maybe give Hope a try.  Find out it doesn’t taste like mud.  It’s OK if it doesn’t rhyme.  It can indeed sell on a t-shirt.  That the investment turns out to be worth it.  That Hope for all Mankind is truly possible.

We know, we’ve done it before.

This is more important than paying the gas bill on time.  Yes, I’m saying it’s more important than heating your home.  It’s more important than getting to work on time.  Yes, more important than earning a living.  It’s more important than playing with the dog regularly.  Even more important than loving a dog.

It’s more important than not texting and driving.  More important than guns, yea or nay.  More important than whether you’re Republican or Democrat.  It’s more important than what land you’re from.  It’s more important than the color of your skin.

This is more important than all those bullets on all those beachheads, all the sacrifices made.  It’s certainly more important than my one life.  Because, it’s more important, more important for all of mankind with this.

It’s more important than all of that – because of “all”.