An Occupy Wall Street protester holds a sign as he marches in Times Square in New York, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. Earlier in the day dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested as they attempted to enter an Episcopal church-owned lot in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood.
Associated Press
Aristotle said, "The worst form of inequality is trying to make diverse things equal." Progressives in both political parties are intentionally conditioning Americans to believe that "equality" should be society's ultimate goal.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in serfdom than equal in freedom." In Lincoln's Gettysburg address, he declared that this country was "conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
It is obvious, however, that not all men are born with equal athletic talents, or levels of intellect, or equal ambition. John F. Kennedy well understood this, telling college graduates in 1963, "All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have equal opportunity to develop whatever talents we possess."
Equal opportunity to pursue our dreams is what the Constitution provides. But progressives don't want equal opportunity to succeed or fail. They want equality in serfdom. To create equal outcomes requires a strong central government to implement laws and to force everyone to obey them, but this punishes the ambitious and rewards the lazy.
Richard L. Toyn
Salt Lake City
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"But progressives don't want equal opportunity to succeed or fail. They want equality in serfdom. "
I know it's a lot of fun for conservatives to imagine that's what motivates progressives, but like so many things on the minds of More..
"The best societies are those in which wealth is most equally distributed"--Brigham Young
As many others have said here, there are no progressives that want total equality of income in this country. But when the 400 wealthiest More..
Um, no Richard, that's a lie. Most progressives do not want total equality, or serfdom. I'm fine with some people getting ahead due to hard work and opportunity. What I am not fine with is the widening income gap in this country that is helping More..