Equality for all on Independence Day?

Ask not, what these words mean to them—men who were alive hundreds of years ago and uttered them at the founding of this country—ask what these words mean to you.

“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.”

The excerpt, of course, is taken from the Declaration of Independence, a document generations of school children are introduced to in this country.

We know through history lessons the slave-owning Founding Fathers were myopic in their approach to drafting the document that serves as foundation for this country. All people were not considered.

But change is inevitable and over time “all men” has grown more encompassing, inclusive.

Today as we mark the anniversary of this country’s founding— in between servings of carne asada, hamburgers, bratwurst, corn, adobo, BBQ ribs, bulgogi, potato salad, and coleslaw—take a moment to reflect on what those words mean to you.

“All men are created equal.”

Do they apply to your daughter who will be leaving home in the fall for her first semester in college, on her own and away from your protective embrace? Or to the recent graduate who is hoping to win a job promotion based on his ability and work ethic, not his background.

Does equality apply to the dishwasher at your favorite restaurant as it does to the person looking for work in front of a garden center?

Does it apply to the elderly couple who have finished raising their children and are living off their retirement benefits as it does to a young couple struggling to raise a newborn and a toddler?

Are a white man and a Latina in their 30s equals? What about their children? What about you?

Do you have the same right to life, freedom and pursuit of happiness as does Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg? Stephen Miller and Donald Trump?

If there is a Creator did they put you here to be under the thumb of someone richer and more powerful than you? Or did they create you as equals?

In celebrating this country’s anniversary ask yourself if this is where you want it to be or do you want something better?