{"id":1359,"date":"2023-12-25T15:46:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T23:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/?p=1359"},"modified":"2023-12-25T15:46:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T23:46:58","slug":"going-god-blind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/?p=1359","title":{"rendered":"Going God-blind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For many years I have asked my composition students to write an essay explaining the concept \u201cAll men are created equal\u201d within the context of the American experienc<\/strong>e. I include the original quotation from the \u201cDeclaration of Independence\u201d and similar quotations from Lincoln\u2019s \u201cGettysburg Address\u201d and Martin Luther King\u2019s \u201cI Have a Dream\u201d speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I urge them to explain in what sense we are truly equal since we certainly aren\u2019t equal in ability, talent, intelligence, athleticism, or beauty. <\/strong>Most evade this question and say we are equal in rights but when pressed admit the concept is claiming a kind of equality that stands as the reason why we ought to have equal rights. It is an inherent equality we possess before, and whether, it is acknowledged by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some are baffled and conclude that although we aren\u2019t equal, the idea that we are is useful for social order and harmony.\u00a0 <\/strong>In other words, they believe the claim that we are created equal is a useful fiction. It is useful because being created equal is the best argument for equal rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I often urge them to look for clues in the rest King\u2019s speech, the Declaration of Independence, and \u201cThe Gettysburg Address.\u201d<\/strong> However, most of my students still draw a blank and instead of explaining the concept, give me a Wikipedia summary of the expansion of equal rights to women and people of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite King\u2019s speech asking that we \u201cspeed up that day when all of God\u2019s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, \u2018Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last,\u2019\u201d most my students make no reference to God as the source of our equality.<\/strong> Even though the \u201cDeclaration of Independence\u201d speaks of people being \u201cendowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights\u201d and begins with an appeal to \u201cNature\u2019s God\u201d, most students make no reference to God as a source of equality. I try to give some gentle guidance by asking them to explain the significance of the word \u201ccreated\u201d, but it doesn\u2019t help much. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In frustration some will demand I explain what \u201ccreated equal\u201d means.<\/strong> I suggest it may mean that we possess equal worth in the eyes of our Creator and therefore ought to be treated equally. That is why King declares us to be \u201call God\u2019s children\u201d. We are all created in the image of God, so we have equal value in His eyes. I then use the analogy of good parents valuing all the kids equally even though some may have handicaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of my students thinks this explanation makes sense and works well, but I am amazed that it occurs to so few\u2014it is as though they have gone God-blind. <\/strong>They read right past the mention of God in their primary texts. I am not certain if this because of how American history is or isn\u2019t taught in high schools or if it is because they think talking about God is simply off-limits in public education. Oddly, my religious and secular students are equally blind to God as the foundation of equality, so this is not a rant against godless Generation Z. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is disconcerting that I can so easily persuade my students that it is ludicrous to think we are created equal. <\/strong>They are, to their credit, uneasy about us having rights that match our level of ability and intelligence. However, they are unable to give much more than a pragmatic argument for equal rights for everyone. Also to their credit, they quickly conclude that biochemistry and evolution offer no persuasive arguments for equality. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether one is on the left or right politically, students\u2019 inability to explain what it means to be \u201ccreated equal\u201d should be alarming.\u00a0 <\/strong>Going God-blind may open the door for demagogues from both the right and the left. If we are not \u201call God\u2019s children\u201d, history teaches that it is easy for us to act like the devil\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many years I have asked my composition students to write an essay explaining the concept \u201cAll men are created equal\u201d within the context of the American experience. I include the original quotation from the \u201cDeclaration of Independence\u201d and similar … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[367,368],"class_list":["post-1359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-john317","tag-created-equal","tag-generation-z"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/marksletters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/cropped-cropped-cropped-cropped-Teckla-Mark-Mill-Creek-Falls-June-2011-3123.jpg?fit=1000%2C287&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6y6Br-lV","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marksletters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}