Equality: Fated

"Therefore, the gradual progress of equality is something fated." -De Tocqueville, Democracy in America


When I was poring over Democracy in America, the section that this sentence began was the only one I couldn't help but read over and over again.  There was so much hope, so much optimism in it that it made me believe, hardly a fraction into the book, that De Tocqueville had captured the spirit of America in one of the truest ways I have ever read.

There is so much truth in that statement, especially for our country.  Despite what people may say, that true equality is not achievable, that is beyond the powers of average men and women, De Tocqueville states powerfully and eloquently that the common people are constantly fighting for it, that each step we take is a step closer to universal equality.

Some naysayers may also state that De Tocqueville was merely talking about equality in terms of political power, and I would have to agree that the crux of his argument focuses on that.  However, democracy, in my opinion, is a demonstration of equality in every facet of life, not just government (though, some may argue that the size of government these days means that it already is involved in every facet of our lives, which, on the whole, I would agree with), thought it seems that in order for equality to truly government needs to legitimize it.  And, though democracy should already be promoting equality amongst its people, it seems equality comes when a vocal majority of the citizenry stand up and demand it.  In my opinion, a true democracy would be granting equality for the minority, whether the majority are for it or not.

There's much on the subject of equality and the role of government I find noteworthy, and I'm afraid this posting has become a jumble of my ideas in a not very coherent order.  If I could boil my general point into a concise sentence (which I should be capable of, right?) it would be this:

Democracy, in its truest form, is the strongest supporter, protector, and advancer of equality for each and every citizen, though our American democracy does not act as such until a majority of the citizens decide that the time is ripe for an advancement towards true equality.

I started out this blog post as almost a love letter to America and its history with equality; I feel as though I've lost the endearment and have settled into a haze of frustration and disappointment.  I'm eager to see if De Tocqueville experiences something similar.