ἆρ᾽ οὖν ἡμῖν, ἦν δ᾽ ἐγώ, πολλὴ ἀνάγκη ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι γε τὰ αὐτὰ ἐν ἑκάστῳ ἔνεστιν ἡμῶν εἴδη τε καὶ ἤθη ἅπερ ἐν τῇ πόλει; οὐ γάρ που ἄλλοθεν ἐκεῖσε ἀφῖκται. γελοῖον γὰρ ἂν εἴη εἴ τις οἰηθείη τὸ θυμοειδὲς μὴ ἐκ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐγγεγονέναι, οἳ δὴ καὶ ἔχουσι ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν, οἷον οἱ κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην τε καὶ Σκυθικὴν καὶ σχεδόν τι κατὰ τὸν ἄνω τόπον, ἢ τὸ φιλομαθές, ὃ δὴ τὸν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν

Said I, “It is impossible for us to avoid admitting that the same forms and qualities found in the state are found in each one of us; they could not come from any other source. It would be absurd to suppose that high spirit in states is not derived from private citizens who possess it, as among the Thracians, Scythians, and other northern peoples, or that the love of knowledge is not chiefly attributed to the region where we dwell.”

Plato, Republic 4.435e. Trans. Paul Shorey. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1969. Perseus Digital Library. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg030.perseus-eng1:4.435e

Society or Individual: Who comes first?

One of the most thought-provoking questions Barack Obama poses at the end of Chapter 1 in A Promised Land is this: What principles should guide the relationship between the individual and society?
From there, he pushes us to go deeper: How far do our obligations to others extend? How can we create rules so that everyone has a voice? And just as importantly, how do we ensure those rules are applied in the way people expect and deserve?

In our present age, it is evident that we do not possess definitive answers to many of humanity’s most enduring questions — and perhaps it is entirely fitting that we do not. The framers of the United States, too, began not with certainties but with convictions, articulated most memorably in the Declaration of Independence:

“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.”

At its essence, citizenship — as envisioned in that founding document — rests upon the recognition that all human beings are created equal. Yet the phrase “created equal” invites deeper reflection.

Its origin lies not solely in the sacred scriptures, though it resonates with them, but also in the political philosophy of the English thinker John Locke (1632–1704). In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke observed:

“All men are naturally in… a state of perfect freedom… and equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another.”

For Locke, this was not a rhetorical flourish but a principle of natural law — a law he believed to be ordained by God — affirming that all persons possess the same inherent rights by virtue of their existence, and that no government holds the legitimate authority to strip them away.

Thomas Jefferson and his fellow authors wove this Lockean vision together with biblical affirmations such as Acts 17:26 (“From one man he made all the nations…”) and Galatians 3:28 (“There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus”). In so doing, they forged a declaration not merely of political intent, but of a universal truth: that human equality is both a divine endowment and a moral imperative.

A normal life. A productive, happy life

Following his mother’s advice, Barack decided to plunge into a challenging political campaign—without pollsters, researchers, or television and radio ads. Illinois had strict ballot access rules, which, in Obama’s words, were designed to make it difficult for challengers who lacked party support.

References

1. Locke, J. (1690). Two treatises of government. Awnsham Churchill. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7370
2. Obama, B. (2020). A promised land. Crown.
3. Plato. (1969). Republic (P. Shorey, Trans.; Vols. 5–6). Harvard University Press; William Heinemann Ltd. (Original work published ca. 375 B.C.E.). Perseus Digital Library. http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg030.perseus-eng1:4.435e
4. The Declaration of Independence. (1776). In The charters of freedom. U.S. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration
5. The Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published ca. 1st century C.E.)