We hold these truths, in common, to be self evident...

...and yet, these same words:

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

can, and have been, used to justify secessionist movements such as the Confederacy, and armed radicals of all philosophical stripes and political extremes. You may also have noticed that the history of this nation has been driven by varying and often conflicting interpretations of words in those very documents that some self-styled conservatives - present company excluded - are so surprised to discover that their percieved foes also know and treasure.

That is, after all, what the Supreme Court is for: interpretation. So is the bicameral Federal legislature, and the entire system of checks and balances John Adams and his comrades argued so hard for, beginning long before the US Constitution was drafted.

Black/white
Us/them
Right/wrong

Life is not made of either/or dichotomies. The sooner we ourselves, here in the Zone and in our daily lives, cease perpetuating the illusion, the easier it will be for us to improve the world we live in: the real one.

E'