Words have power, and sometimes they take on a power of their own beyond the intent of the author. Even an author as farsighted as Thomas Jefferson can see the meaning of their words grow beyond anything they could have conceived. And Jefferson could conceive a lot.
When Jefferson wrote "all men are created equal" in 1776 he didn't mean that ALL men were created EQUAL. He owned men and women and certainly did not see them as his equal. He meant that men like him, men like Washington and Lee (Harry Lee, that is), the large landowners of Virginia, were equal to the British aristocracy. He may have conceded equality to John Adams (he certainly liked and respected Adams at that time) and Benjamin Franklin and their ilk, but he would have recoiled at seeing working men who owned no property as his equal.
Time, however, had a way of taking Jefferson literally. Gradually the literal meaning of his words came to be their actual meaning. In fact, his words now mean more than even their literal meaning, since now most would agree that all people are created equal, to prevent any confusion about gender.
This change in meaning did not come easy. Another of Jefferson's sayings was that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." It's interesting how many misquote that and only mention the blood of tyrants. It's important to remember the patriots. Slavery in America ended only with the shedding of an ocean of blood, some from patriots and much from tyrants. Oceans more have been and likely will continue to be shed to bring true racial equality to this country. More blood and suffering marked the Women's Suffrage movement and the struggle to make women equal. Still more blood has been shed in an effort to make those who labor equal to those who provide capital, and we have take many steps backwards in that battle in the last 30 years, since a tyrant started the destruction of the labor movement in 1981.
As we mark this Fourth of July, it is worth noting the Supreme Court's decision regarding the Defense of Marriage Act. A lot of blood has been shed for bringing equality to gay men and women, and Jefferson, I'm sure, never imagined it. It is as important that we water the tree of liberty with our sweat as well as with our blood, and the effort to make Jefferson's words true never ends.
Tomorrow, Mexica and I are going to Corregidor Island to mark the Fourth of July. We hope it isn't raining. Pictures and blog about Corregidor to follow.
1 comment:
I really liked what you wrote. Very true.
Susan and I went to Corregidor and the Bataan peninsula when we were there. If I remember right there was a museum somewhere along our route. It was interesting and had much about the Death March. I hope you can find it.
Ray
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