Quote

On the Declaration of Independence's idea that all men are born free and equal:

"Taking the proposition literally (it is in that sense it is understood), there is not a word of truth in it. It begins with 'all men are born,' which is utterly untrue. Men are not born. Infants are born. They grow to be men. And concludes with asserting that they are born 'free and equal.' which is not less false. They are not born free. While infants they are incapable of freedom, being destitute alike of the capacity of thinking and acting, without which there can be no freedom."

--John Calhoun

John Calhoun is, of course, problematic on the "equality" part, so I left that part out of the excerpt here. This was, though, one of the funniest parts of the reading for the conference that I was at last weekend. It wasn't even the funniest part--we also read a back-and-forth over the Declaration between Harry Jaffa and Mel Bradford (At one point Bradford mentions "Straussian rationalists").