Are all men really created equal?

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) – We’ve all heard the simple statement, “All men are created equal.” But how far do we, as Christians and as Americans, take this as gospel.

          We live in a world of contradictions. We aspire to the words of our birthing document, The Declaration of Independence, yet we see around the world, and in some parts of our own nation that many men, women, and the pre-born are treated as some type of sub-human species not entitled to equality with their fellow man.

          And that is now being exaggerated by political charlatans from the opposite sides of the body politic, who are doing so not to help humanity, but to feather their own political nests.

          First let us articulate what the phrase “all men are created equal” means. It stands for only two propositions. All men are equal before God and have been created by him in his image. And, of course, man is used in its generic meaning to include all human beings, man and woman, as well as children, the elderly, the sick, and the feeble-minded. This covers all people, regardless of race, creed, color, or place of habitat,

          Thus each – born yet or not – deserves to be treated with respect as a child – and gift – from Almighty God.

          The other meaning is that before the law all men stand equal with rights and privileges that can be abridged with only a critically high justification that is usually reserved for the protection of society, such as in a criminal conviction. Thus our laws require that each of us be deemed worthy of all the opportunities afforded our fellows, including the right to stand before the bar of justice on equal footing with those hurling accusations towards us. And it requires that any attempt to remove any of those rights must follow a strict procedure that ensures those rights to all involved without regard to status, education, wealth, color, or religion (including the lack of it).

          Now that is what it says and means when we, as Christians and Americans, give it our deference. And while we claim to support the phrase we know that around the world it is viewed differently. We see that every time we read a newspaper, watch or listen to a news broadcast, or study history. For what some men have done to their fellow man is enough to break the heart of God.

          But we also know that there are – and must be – some understanding that all men being equal does not mean that all receive the same gifts or talents. Many are plagued with depilating illnesses and physical handicaps. Some are not inclined to mechanics while others excel at mathematics.

          The point I’m trying to make is that some men are created with handicaps that limit their activities, and some by their own actions limit their own potential. I’ve seen that. As a chaplain at a drug treatment center I’ve seen young folks in their prime who have crippled themselves; and as a minister to the homebound, hospitalized and those in hospice care are just as limited.

          So why take half a column to point this all out when we all intuitively know it to be true? Why do I need to be reminded that I can’t dunk a basketball, hit a 90 mile an hour pitch, or play a musical instrument? While I don’t care what you know about me, I do hope that you know your own limitations and when you can challenge them. I’ll never be able to dunk that ball, but I can still enjoy the game.

          Here is what provoked today’s thought. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for a new focus on hiring people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities as part of diversity and inclusion in hiring. According to the FAA website, “Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. … They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability and dwarfism." 

          The policy is part of the FAA’s attempt to broaden its DEI hiring policies. The FAA is part of the Transportation Department and has approximately 45,000 employees. It is the agency which governs the regulations involving civil aviation. 

          The move has drawn criticism from several quarters including Elon Musk who wrote on what was once called Twitter, now X, "Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening." 

          Other critics have also argued against prioritizing DEI over safety. Much of it goes back to reports that surfaced that the DOT was beginning to mandate DEI conformity in pilot and air controller training. 

          Here’s my point today: Overall criticism of DEI revolves around its attempt to force a form of legal competency on a diverse workforce in place of actual merit. The concept of equity is being misused to legally enforce equality, which it is not. The idea that we can simply replace merit with a faux competency is not only illogical, it can be dangerous, and it is not in the true spirit of all men being created equal.         

          And as to those who claim that holding some to standards that they did not achieve is discrimination due to factors beyond the individual’s control, such as lack of education, my reply is simple. If your goal is to qualify them for special positions, fill in the needs they lack. If education is the problem how about demanding that all schools, especially those in the inner cities produce graduates who can read and do math as well as they know the new pronoun regime.  

          We hear a lot about “root causes” these days. Find out what the cause of the inadequacy is, then correct it. Respect the individual for how he is and make the fellow competent. Then the merit will be a real competence, not a pseudo one.