Independence Day

The single greatest document in Human political history turns 239 today. Seemingly unrelated but always present in my mind are the Meditations of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who musings consistently attempted to remind himself that all mankind has an equal place in Nature. These meditations from 1900 years ago, and the 1776 Declaration, ring so true to me now that I am daily comparing my own mullings to their musings. And I still find it disconcerting that my concerns and observations align so closely to someone's from so long ago, so far away, and living in so different a circumstance. What has changed? Where is the growth?

Today I am taking myself to task to illuminate why that should be disconcerting rather than comforting.

First, I am reminded, on this Independence Day, that 'all men are created equal.' And, that here in 2015, we are realizing that that equality extends far beyond what either Marcus or Jefferson would have found comforting. Shouldn't I feel comforted that this precept has grown to a more plebeian ideal? Thankfully I am not.

Second, I find comfort that the engine is still running, but it runs only because we are all so disconcerted. If, as I truly believe, that humanity is destined to evolve into greater and greater beings then we must expand our community memberships to accomplish that. A growth in equality is necessary, as is the appropriate amount of dissatisfaction with our current state to inspire more growth. We see now what Marcus and Jefferson saw because they saw it and shared it. We now see that to move even further along includes, and requires the inclusion, of all humanity.

Life is growth. Living, though, is growth to a particular interim improvement in a specific context making all in that context, more Excellent. Marcus lived in a culture that institutionalized slavery. Jefferson, for all his faults, began the still incomplete movement to eradicate slavery, as well as persecution - when he wrote 'all men are created equal' - no one can own another human. We create 'governments at the behest of the governed' - no one can rule humans without their approval.

Today we are inundated with gender struggles, race struggles, lifestyle struggles, socio-economic struggles, that the struggles are becoming enured as the commonplace events of today's world, neither new nor insipid. These struggles are just the next step on the equality ladder that we as a people must climb if we are to evolve according to our destiny. But remember, it is the troubled soul, the disconcerted individual, who seeks change. It is those who are downtrodden, or demeaned, or persecuted, who will agitate our human community to become even more and even greater than we can see now. Pushing and dragging the entire human community along with them. We are ALL in this together - man, woman, transgender, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, African, so on and so forth.

All are created equal.