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Abe on double standards

By William Easterly | Published April 22, 2010

Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation we began by declaring that “all men are created equal.” We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except negroes.” Soon it will read “all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics.” When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty–to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

- Abraham Lincoln, August 24, 1855

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3 Comments

  1. Scott Andrews wrote:

    Fantastic quote! I was hoping to see something about Earth Day. Perhaps something on adaptation funding for Climate Change or reflections on Copenhagen or the current conference in Bolivia.

    Posted April 22, 2010 at 2:59 pm | Permalink
  2. QT wrote:

    In the context of the previous post regarding Guantanamo, it seems fitting to recall President Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus. Liberty it appears is in the eye of the beholder.

    Posted April 22, 2010 at 10:48 pm | Permalink
  3. Sina Motamedi wrote:

    amen

    Posted April 27, 2010 at 11:20 am | Permalink

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