The painting called The Declaration of Independence is worth mentioning because the Declaration of Independence begins with "all men are created equal."

Thomas Jefferson is credited with writing this. Jefferson was a slaveholder every day of his adult life. He recommended (we have his letters) slavery as an investment to his friends. DNA evidence has verified that he impregnated Sally Heming (his slave and his wife's half-sister) at least 6 times. The first child was born when Heming was barely 16. American slaveholders were infamous the world over for this behavior.

By the way, Washington freed his slaves in his will. Jefferson wouldn't even do that.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/founding-fathers-and-slaveholders-72262393/

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/04/11/10-facts-thomas-jefferson-slavery-at-jeffersons-monticello-national-constitution-center/

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James Madison and George Washington were slaveholders. (In fact, 11 of the first 18 Presidents were slaveholders.)

On the other hand, Franklin, though once a slaveholder, turned against slavery, and Alexander Hamilton may not have been a slaveholder, though he certainly brokered the sale of slaves. His grandson believed he was a slaveholder. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton#On_slavery)

I agree with William Lloyd Garrison that the northern states should have refused to join any union with slaveholders. I also think that, at the end of the American Civil War, all slaveholders should have been publicly hanged, and their property (not just land, but everything) should have been given to their former slaves. I also advocate the destruction of all monuments to slaveholders. Remember: I don't want to "cancel" them or erase them from the history books. I want them and what they did to be remembered forever.

"The painting called The Declaration of Independence is worth mentioning because the Declaration of Independence begins with “all men are created equal.”

...and just as women were not considered equal as men back then in that culture, african americans were not considered "men". Slaves were considered "livestock" and african americans were considered "animals".

Which is why some people still call them monkeys.

Everyone knows Jefferson was a slaveholder, and Washington

Further, the Declaration of Independence was not talking about such things as slavery etc, it was talking about declaring independence from England and the Crown - it was overthrowing Monarchy - declaring all men as not better enough to be King than another. It was talking about Democracy vs the Divine Right of Kings.

Franklin did stand against slavery. Thomas Paine, I believe, was also not a slave holder

"I also think that, at the end of the American Civil War, all slaveholders should have been publicly hanged, and their property (not just land, but everything) should have been given to their former slaves. "

the reason they didnt do this was to stop the destruction of an internal war. To promote peace, they pardoned them, to help the country heal faster.

They lost and they knew it. They suffered, to save the community the stopped making them suffer more.

They stopped the slavery, and to curb destruction they stopped at that. To promote the wellbeing of the union

" I also advocate the destruction of all monuments to slaveholders." Washingtons statues need to come down too. All our "false idols" must go, so true democracy and equality reigns.

Are you finished with your tangent? You still have not explained the relevance to the topic.

"Wealthy people oppose the minimum wage because it reduces rather than increases wealth and income inequality. We live in a country founded by wealthy, with government of the wealthy, for the wealthy, and by the wealthy. Wealthy, powerful people are only wealthy and powerful in comparison to others. In order to be happy, they had to impoverish and enslave others."

This is the problem

Poor people fought and shed blood for our freedom and our country as much as thr wealthy, it was for us too. It was not, however, for everyone in the world. I was not for african americans, native americans, etc. [at that time]

Just as slavery was a bad policy to inherit from the British and other empires, so colonialism and empire was.

We should have restructured our economy from the start, made it sustainable, and stopped colonialism and empire.

We should not have entertained an "American Dream" of "Making it " with Profit. We should have entertained a culture of "humility" and living humbly and middle class, a dream of "Stability" "normality" "modesty" sustainability" "safety" and "home". and Humanity"

We should have restructured the economy immediately and worked hard for sustainability, made peace with Natives, settled down, and armed the coast to the max to stop the Europeans from reconquering us.

We never did restructure the economy, and this is our failure. We MUST do this now, and aim for sustainability in all ways.

But first, we cannot change the economy, or policy, or anything else, until we have our democracy back. This comes first. This is why the RepresentUs movement is so critical. There is no other way, FIRST we must make the government work again

"If we can make America anything resembling a democracy, that will be a revolutionary change. I want to see this change brought about peacefully and soon. The longer revolutionary change is delayed, the greater the danger of a bloody revolution."

I agree completely, and you could not be more right

is parDemocracyticipatory. it CANNOT work if it is not, it is not a democracy otherwise. This is our problem. We MUST all participate.

We must all brush off the dust and start maintaining our Democracy again. We will never make it until this happens. And this is all that is stopping us. The structure is there, the constitution, the laws, the democracy - its all there. We just have to use it, to follow through, and take care of it.

Peace 😀

We weren't satisfied in the 1960s, and we're still not satisfied now.

If you don't hear us complaining about the status quo, it's certain that we're not trying to change it. Likewise, if you don't hear us complaining about it, it's safe to assume that we're not doing anything to change it.

There have been periods when the USA has become a better place to live. The last 5 years is not one of those periods. Racism is on the rise in America. Infant mortality is on the rise. The percentage of women dying in childbirth is on the rise. The percentage of children who are malnourished is on the rise. Use of soup kitchens and free food pantries is on the rise. Abuse of, and addiction to, legally manufactured drugs is on the rise. Suicide is on the rise, especially among military veterans. Life expectancy is starting to edge down. Our national postal system is being sabotaged by its own leadership and is on the verge of collapse. Wealth and income inequality is increasing, at an ever-increasing rate. State legislatures, just this week, have passed new laws making it harder, not easier, to vote. The Capital Building, itself, was recently attacked.

Also, people who bought slaves weren't doing the best they could. Slavery is not part of "the best of our history."

Not all democracies have universal suffrage.

If it doesn't have universal suffrage, it's not a democracy.