"All are equal"....really?

I, like millions of others around the world, watched Obama's inauguration speech several weeks ago and let me say, that man can deliver a message. He may be the best communicator in the office since Reagan. While I genuinely could not care less about the color of the mans skin, it was hard not to get caught up observing history being made by swearing in the country's first black president.

Overall, I thought the speech was well written and very well delivered however, there were a couple things I heard and later validated in the transcript that made me very uncomfortable. Obama's speech included the following statement.

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

At first glance, the statement seems pretty straight forward and even a bit inspirational. But if you give it a deeper look you'll notice that Obama chose to slightly alter the noble idea he refers to which is outlined in our country's Declaration of Independence. The statement in the Declaration of Independence is the following.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

In life, all are not equal, rather all are created equal. From the time we are born, choices are made for us by our parents that will affect our lives. At some point, we take complete responsibility for our own lives and make our own choices. The choices we make will take each of us to very different places in life. In fact, very few, if any of us, are truly equal in our adult lives. A very simple example; those who chose to get an education, work hard, live frugal and retire wealthy are certainly not equal to those who chose not to get an education, live above their means and retire broke.

While we possess the right to pursue happiness, we have to choose to do so. Those who choose to pursue happiness will earn their own chances and opportunities. Those who do not deserve nothing but the choice to begin the pursuit.

The statement made by Obama reflects a sense of entitlement that many Americans seem to have. The lack of individual accountability pervasive in our society today is arguably the primary reason we are in this financial mess. The idea that everyone deserves the American dream of owning a home finally failed and with it went the rest of the economy. Let this be a lesson learned that that which is truly earned is far more valuable than that which is given.

The Great Debate

I've been known to engage in a little political debate with friends and random folks who happen to be sitting next to me at the bar. Living in Austin means that my conservative lean rarely goes unchallenged and my competitive spirit rarely let's me walk away quietly....especially after a few drinks.

Most of my friends who sit on the other side of the political isle are educated and pretty well informed. These folks are great for a lively and cordial debate. I win some, I lose some and some end up in a stalemate, but I generally learn something in the process and occasionally completely re-evaluate my stance on a particular topic. That's the beauty of a healthy debate with respected peers who may not share your view. It's an essential part of how we form our opinions.

And then there are those who clearly get all their ideas and talking points from one of a few extreme sources like Olbermann, Maddow and Maher on the left and Limbaugh, Coulter and Hannity on the right. Listening to these "analysts" as a sole source for forming your opinion is just flat out lazy. Those who do this are easily detected by those who don't. Their arguments are generally shallow because they relied on someone else to do the homework and they generally resort to weak debate tactics like diverting the discussion with personal stabs, getting overly emotional or trying to hide behind humor. The best you can expect from this person is a hell of a laugh or a lot of frustration.

While I've learned a lot from those who can clearly present and defend a position, I've learned just as much from those who can't. Here are a few basic suggestions to keep in mind when forming your political opinion (or any opinion) and defending it.

1. For those of us who did not get our candidate into office, resist giving the current administration the same level disrespect the last administration received from it's opposition. Have a little class.


2. If you disagree with a particular point, voice your opinion clearly and support it with facts.


3. Don't position something as a fact if you are not certain and please don't make something up just to make a point. "It's better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Not sure who said that originally, but I like it.


4. Avoid the obnoxious personal stabs. It screams desperation.


5. Dropping highly charged opinion bombs and hiding behind humor can potentially make you funny, but it does not make you credible. Know the difference.


6. Be as objective as possible. Seek information from a variety of sources and then form an opinion...not the other way around. Relying on a single talk show host, comedian or news outlet to spoon feed you your opinions makes you a puppet.

We've all been "that guy" to some level in the past. With everything going on in our lives, it's hard to keep up with current events and continue to educate ourselves on history. The level of noise from all the different types of information sources available today is higher and more difficult to filter than ever before, but you have to try.

Keep yourself informed. Don't be "that guy". Good luck and good debating.