All "men" are created equal...... Optimistic quotation at best?

The problem that is just the opposite. I d say "All "men" are created different..." From here comes all problems. There are no in planet 2 alike people. Each person is individual, each person has own view of the world, life, things. Thats why equal thing its just the product of civilization while human basicly is just animal. And only after u put on urself thin layer of moral and ethic only then u start to understand and repect the difference of other people. Unfortunately that thin layer is not for everybody, so the quotation u posted is just a pinky dream:)

There is a sense in which all are created equal. Everyone is born completely helpless and completely dependent on others for everything. While I'd like to think that everyone is born having the same capacity to develop and achieve and make the most of opportunities, I can't see that this is so in reality. It was probably in the minds of those who wrote the Declaration of Independence with the hope that it could become so, but obviously it hasn't. Let's look at the matter of birth. Without even considering those born with mental or physical defects, we can see some have far more opportunities than others. Some babies are born "with a silver spoon in it's mouth" or born to affluent parents, given the highest education and very often, deserving or not, walking into high paying positions. Even within the same country, we see great diversity. For example, in England a child can be born into royalty, nobility, upper class, middle class, lower class or abject poverty. They are very far from equal in anything. When we look at other countries where the vast majority of people are poverty-stricken, uneducated and have little hope of even the smallest of opportunities, we know that babies are not born with anywhere near equal opportunities. There have to be exceptions to every rule, and we thrill when we hear of someone from "the other side of the tracks" making good. These isolated cases make us think that if he did it, everyone could: everyone is born equal, but deep down we know it isn't true. Thankfully, there will always be those who rise above their circumstances, but the vast majority will live according to their circumstances. Is there a remedy? I don't think so. If it were possible for the entire wealth of the whole world - or a nation - or even a community - to be pooled and divided equally, it would not be long before we would once again have all levels of extreme wealth to extreme poverty.

The idea of this phrase illustrates the natural rights of every human beings on the planet. And not the social or economical standings of every person since each person varies in abilities and talents. We are all equal in natural rights. We are all equal when it comes to our rights to Live, rights to Freedom, rights to Happiness. Although all men are not treated equally our rights still remains to be treated fairly.