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'We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal...' Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the American Declaration of Independence, took many ideas from John Locke, an Englishman, that governments depend on the consent of the governed. That all men were created equal; that men have natural rights; that government could only have limited power in the lives of the people, and men could only be governed by their agreement. And that it is the right and duty of the people to rebel against a government which seeks to impose dictatorship or tyranny. These then radical ideas did not fill a jug, like water. These ideas, in American hands, lit a fire whose glow is encountered all over the world. Whilst we non Americans do not always agree with you, and you do not always agree with yourselves, disagreement is freedom's privilege. Honour to you, America. You live your dream, the true meaning of your creed, in a candid light, for all the world to see and wonder at your majesty 'all men are created equal' Sinclair [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@quarterman.org [ To get off or on the list, see http://sinclair.quarterman.org/list.html