@frankm That's one of the most eye-opening things about America, coming face-to-face with the class system. We give a lot of lip-service to equality, but we gaslight ourselves (in this one way, along with so many others).
@hjalm As I see it there are two fundamentals that without a common understanding we will struggle as a country. One is that equality as understood in 1780 is very different than equality as understood now, which means using a literal/originalist point of view to our laws is flawed. A 1780 view of equality is equality amongst white men who are property owners, aka wealthy white men.
Once accept today's definition of equality then you apply liberty. It's true that the U.S. founding is centered around liberty, but one has to ask the question, liberty for whom? Here is where equality intersects with liberty. The 14th ammendment is intended to resolve this question by affirming "equal protection of the laws" for all citizens, which subsequent ammendments expanded beyond just white men.
Consequently, liberty doesn't truly exist in the U.S. without treating all citizens equally. Laws targetted at specific groups of citizens strike at the fundamentals of the United States. Targetting is not just how a law is explicitly written but also the consequences of how they are applied.