On Ideals

A nation cannot have ideals. Only people can have ideals. The ideal that all men are created equal is not a "national ideal." It was an ideal shared by a particular group of men at a particular point in history. After centuries have passed, it is up to us as individuals to interpret this statement as either a valid principle, or a flawed one, and to decide whether it agrees or conflicts with our own ideals, whatever they might be. But we should not base our interpretation of the statement on the qualities and character of the men who wrote it, but rather the validity and accuracy of the words themselves. Stalin himself is famous for saying, "You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves." Is this statement any less true on account of what we know of Stalin's character? Not in the least. Look to the words themselves if you want the truth. While educating one's self, one must forget politics. Politics comes later, and is actually very arbitrary when considering the overall course of human values and morality. If one finds himself on the wrong side of history, at least he may absolve himself in God's eyes by holding to a moral and ethical code. In other words, if he attempts to do no harm, he is justified no matter what his political beliefs are. Indeed, there have been many men who have been on the "right" side of history who have done a great deal of harm. For example, the man who wrote the quote, "All men are created equal"--Thomas Jefferson--was in fact a great hypocrite, for he owned many slaves. Judge the words for the words, and the man for the man, rather than the man for the words and the words for the man. It is not easy, but it is the only just approach to morality that there is.