Civics Lesson: Part II

The first self-evident truth Jefferson tells us is that , "all Men are created equal..." The question we must ask ourselves, "By what measure are we going to quantify equality?"

Many look at the equality of outcome, an equality set by men. Do people have the same wealth? The same house? The same access to health care? The same 'rights'? Equality of outcome can only be enforced by people who are 'more equal' than others to ensure that the equality is set.

The equality that our Founders alluded to is that of being equal before the laws of nature and nature's God. Not all of us will be wealthy, highly-educated, extremely talented, etc. But we all should have equal access to the opportunity to be the best as far as our talent, intelligence, and ambition will allow. It is God who dispenses challenges and talents, blessings and curses.Where we are equal is the opportunity to overcome curse and challenge and to use to the fullest talent and blessing.

What has made our nation the greatest the world has seen is that we acknowledge that Truth that we are equal before God and can be the best at the calling God has placed in our hearts. Our outcomes will never be equal. They will be as different as our fingerprints.

As Teddy Roosevelt said, "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Those that look for the equality of outcome prefer cold, timid souls. God wants those who dare greatly for Him. Our Founders dared greatly. For over 200 years of our nations history we dared greatly. Will we continue to dare greatly or will we be the cold, timid souls?