"We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident"

For some people, human failures are the main story; the redemption and the progress somehow irrelevant. 

When the U.S. Declaration of Independence said "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," critics will always mention that the phrase did not clearly specify women, slaves or perhaps even non-property-owning people. 

But human progress is a journey. We eventually get it right. 

At least 360,000 Union soldiers died to extend the self-evident truth of equality to all former slaves. At least 275,000 Union soldiers were wounded. At least 30,000 suffered combat amputations of limbs. 

Beyond that, progress towards equality of many types continued:
* 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.
* 14th Amendment (1868): Established citizenship and guaranteed "equal protection of the laws."
* 15th Amendment (1870): Prohibited disenfranchisement based on race, color, or previous servitude.
* 19th Amendment (1920): Extended the right to vote to women.
* 24th Amendment (1964): Eliminated poll taxes that blocked low-income citizens from voting.
* 26th Amendment (1971): Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 during the Vietnam War
* Civil Rights Act of 1964: Outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations and employment.
* Voting Rights Act of 1965: Banned discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests.
* Fair Housing Act of 1968: Prohibited discrimination in housing rentals, sales, and financing. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
* Rehabilitation Act (1973) & ADA (1990): Mandated equal access and prohibited discrimination against individuals with disabilities
* Title IX (1972): Guaranteed equal educational and athletic opportunities regardless of sex
* Marriage Equality (2015): The Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the 14th Amendment guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry.

The point is that the initial promise is the main thing. Our failures to be completely inclusive are secondary. We eventually get things right. 

The U.S. Declaration of Independence has been a cornerstone of global human rights, serving as a foundational blueprint for self-government. 

By asserting universal equality and the right to resist tyranny, it inspired over 100 countries to draft similar declarations and directly fueled subsequent uprisings like the French Revolution.

Its emphasis on "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" provided a universal rallying cry for liberation and democratic movements worldwide. It directly influenced foundational European texts like France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

It was the first time a group of colonies successfully used the language of independence to announce their statehood and assert an "equal Station among the Nations". This provided a flexible framework for colonies in the 19th and 20th centuries to break free from imperial rule.

By establishing that governments derive their power from the people rather than divine right, the document helped to upend prevailing orthodoxies and accelerated the global transition toward modern democracy.

The document’s inherent promise of universal equality has been continuously leveraged by marginalized groups globally to demand civil rights, suffrage, and abolition.

Happy Fourth of July. It is a human achievement and an event of global impact worth celebrating.