The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1858-11-04
The Equality of Men.

a,'ol oi independence rs Strlng OF
glitterng generalities :" when the slave
oligarchy, which now holds possession
of the national government, Genounces
the idea that all human beings have equal
rights; when the Washington Union and
the so-called Democratic presses. reiter-
ate the same sentiments, we cannot, per-
haps, better employ some space in our
columns, than with few reflections on
this subject. esio HI
In the inalienable rights spoken of by
JEFFERSON, men are naturally equal, and
none ever rose above the rest but by
force or consent. No man was ever born
"booted and spurred" and above all the
rest, nor below them all, in accordance
with proper appreciation of what is just
and true. Therefore, there was never
any man in the world so good or SO bad,
SO high or so low, but he had his peer.
Nature is kind and benevolent parent
she creates no particular favorites with
inherent privileges above the rest but
sends all human beings into the world
with the same tenure to . life, liberty,
and happiness" and for the most part,
furnished with understandings and
strength sufficient, if her plans were not
thwarted, to provide for themselves. She
gives them heads to consult their own Sc
curity, and hands to execute their own
counsels, and according to the use they
make of their faculties. and of the op-
portunilies that they find, degrees of pow
er and names ofdistinction grow amongst
them, and their natural equality is lost.
Thus Nature, who is their parent, deals
with men but Fortune, who is their
nurse, is not so benevolent and impair
lial. She acts wantonly and capricious-
ly-oiten cruelly-counter plotting JUS
lce AS well as nature, and frequently sets
the fool above the wise man, and the best
below the worst. And from hence it is.
that the most part of the world, attend
ing much more to the noisy conduct and
ylarnS effects Of fortune, than to the
quiet and regular proceedings of Nature,
are mlsled in their Judgment on this sub
ject. They confound fortune with ma
lure, and too often ascribe to natural
merit and excellence, what rather springs
from contrlvance, or what is called
chance. Partisans rarely see any one
rise, but they attribute it to his parts,
when probably the true reason is his own
baseness. or his supporters folly This
explains why even JAMES Buchanan.
when he is at the head of his party, is
compljmented as being superior to the
rest Of mankind. Men that are high Are
almost always seen in false light. Most
observers behold them at great dis
lance, and through magnifying medi-
nm /; some are dazzled with their splen-
dor-many are awed by their power
Whatever appears shining or terrible,
appears great, and is magnified by the
eye and The Imagination. Thus to some,
+" ten cent JIMMY" seems great man
That nature has conferred equal rights
upon all men, We know and feel, and
when people come to, think otherwise,
deere Is 40 excess. OF folly and supersti-
ton which they may not be brought to
practice. Thus the ancients made gods
Of dead men, aud paid divine honors to
many while they were yet living They
saw diem to be but men, yet they wor-
shipped them as gods. And even they
who have not gone quite SO far, have yet.
by theis wild notions of inequality, done
us much mischief, and have made wick
ed men TO be vice gods. e@-a : -"
il is evident to common sense that
there oesht TO be no inequality in soeie-
y, but fpr The sake Of society; yet des
pots IN other counties, and the slave ol- !
igarchy in this, think the many we're
made for The pleasure of The few. These
persons. who think themselves furthest
above HE rest, are in reality generally
below diem. They are debased by
Of their own greatness. They
;rus! to lleir blood and neglect their
niad. and it is by intellect that MEN ac-
tually attsin real excellence. - aif-3a /
There is i,oth;ng moral in blood, or in
tile, or in place, Actions only, and the
causes that produce ,hem, are moral
He therefore is best vino does best. No
Die blood prevents neither folly, nor lu-
lacy. nor crimes, but frequently begets ,
" promotes them. Noble men who act |
derive no honor from yirtu-