The excerpts conflict because
Read the excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "The
American Dream" speech.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness."
Now read the excerpt from Governor George Wallace's
inaugural address
We invite the negro citizens of Alabama to work with us
from his separate racial station ... as we will work with
him... to develop, to grow in individual freedom and
enrichment
O the first suggests that life, liberty, and happiness are
basic rights, while the second suggests that freedom
is the only basic right.
the first suggests that all are born with equal rights,
while the second suggests that certain citizens need
to be separated in order to become equal.
O the second suggests that black citizens enjoy working
with white citizens, while the first suggests that black
citizens cannot work with white citizens.
O the second suggests that it is a racial group's own
responsibility to improve itself, while the first suggests
that this idea is a proven fact.