We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Please note that it says “more perfect,” not  perfect, Union—we’re still working on it–and that the goal was tranquility (peace) and general welfare for all, not just some.  The quotation was penned by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 during the beginning of the American Revolution; it was thereafter quoted and incorporated into speeches by substantial figures in American political and social life in the United States. The final form of the phrase was stylized by Benjamin Franklin and has been called an “immortal declaration,” and perhaps the single phrase of the American Revolutionary period with the “greatest continuing importance.”

The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence starts as follows: 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.

Yes, ostensibly we all have equal rights under our law, but we are not guaranteed equal results.  There are other components to the equation for success:

Attitude: a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior; a point of view,  frame of mind, or way of thinking or  looking at things; a perspective, belief, feeling or interpretation.

Ability: possession of the means or skill to do something; capability, potential, facility, means, preparedness, talent, skill, aptitude

Accountability:  responsibility, answerability

As I believe and have expressed in previous postings, each of us has control over his/her destiny.  We have free will, and our actions and reactions determine the life we lead. My brother Bob shared a writing with me recently that suggested our lives are like a movie; and that as the star and director of the production, we should choose the cast and set the scene to create a blockbuster, not a bomb.    For the most part I agree with the thought, but have recently adjusted my beliefs.  There are some things over which we have no control and challenges that are more difficult for some to overcome.

In an interesting experiment, a group of high school seniors of mixed races and social and economic circumstances lined up to begin a race.  The prize at the end was a scholarship to the college of their choice.  They were then told to take two steps forward if they came from a two-parent home; another two steps if they always had enough food in their household; then another two steps if they always felt safe in their neighborhoods.  By this point several of the participants were closer to the goal than the others.  Although they all started at the same line, it was apparent that they didn’t all have the same advantages

My summer reading included two books that helped me understand the other side.  One was A Good Neighborhood, by Therese Anne Fowler, which dealt with racial tensions, and the other was American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins, about the plight of migrants escaping violence in Mexico.  In both stories, the characters were fictitious, but their experiences reflected reality.

My eyes were opened, and my perspective broadened.  I have a better understanding of the frustrations felt by those with whom I share the same space if not the same circumstances.

I was blessed with a comfortable life and brought up to love my neighbor as myself; I didn’t always take time to consider his/her situation, usually judging others’ actions by my own standards.

However I do not condone lawlessness and violence.  There is no justification for taking a life or for looting and destruction of property in protest of grievances.  I still hold strongly to my conservative principles:  Love of God and Country, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, and respect for law and order, and I pray that we as a blessed nation of one from many find peace and prosperity for all.  LovEstelle