The Declaration of Independence is underpinned by the premise "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."This book attempts to pare down this premise to its bones, carving away methodically to reveal whether or not its words merely stand on how they sound versus how they are realized in everyday life.Along the way, many companion ideas are introduced and explored that are intended to widen the thinking field of the reader. The purpose of these sidebars is to challenge the reader to think outside the regular, the expected, and to question assumptions and set aside presumptions.Perhaps the most difficult challenge presented by this book is that it asks for honesty. America has experienced considerable difficulty with living up to the true meaning of its creed, its founding premise. This volume suggests that the difficulty arises more from what is read into the premise rather than what was ever intended to be lived into it.It is abundantly clear that Thomas Jefferson absolutely did not have thousands of enslaved Africans in mind when he said "All men are created equal." The inclusion of all people, regardless of race, was an add-on concept that needed a life of its own so that the formerly excluded could own their own lives.It is not the intention of this book to do away with the Declaration premise. It occupies a hallowed ceremonial place in American thought and reflection. It seems to have provoked many men, women, boys, and girls to good works and worthy strides toward the collective well-being of all.The Premise is a grand and holy wish begging to be questioned but, for its celebrity, is rarely ever called to the stand.

--J. Andrew Mosley

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