With liberty and justice for all In response to a claim that liberalism does not advocate equality The foundational documents of liberalism stress both freedom and equality We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal We know those high ideals were expressed by a man who owned slaves and that while we are much closer to true equality today we still have a way to go Still one of the two principles that unite liberals is the idea of equality in the sense of equal rights The liberal movement has consistently been in that direction with equality for Negros first then for women maybe someday for homosexuals By equality I mean equality before the law obviously all men are not equal at birth but the law should not favor those born with greater advantages Sometimes equality and freedom conflict My freedom to own slaves conflicts with the slave s equality under the law But more often the two ideals are complementary My equal rights give me the freedom to walk down the sidewalk without the law telling me I must step into the gutter to allow a better man to pass