If you are a wealthy man and found yourself in a group of wealthy men with the opportunity to found a new country, would you model that new country on a monarchy like England that imposes a hierarchy on the wealthy class or create something that looks democracy that imposes no hierarchy... frankmcpherson.blog

@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.