All men are created equal, but some are more equal

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the US Declaration of Independence, he coined the famous phrase "All men are created equal". For centuries since then the phrase has gained popularity and has exuberated its meaning in different forms. The phrase has been used in decorating the speeches, writings and reflecting the intellectual bent of mind by many. Well, I am not untouched by the vast sense of meaning of the phrase either. I love it!
The challenge though comes with what follows the initial phrase – "All men are created equal,…..". It is left for the others to supplement the phrase with additional words forming a statement. And this too has been a very populist subject. I remember in the late 1990's, the editorial of one of the leading newspapers of its time used the phrase to cause quite a stir. It read – "All men are created equal, but some are more equal". This became one of the common themes for essays, group discussions, debates and other literary works. To top it all, it was used as screener to filter out eligible candidates from future jobs or colleges.
I guess, we rethink the statement and question its validity – how can some be more equal when everyone is equal?
It's been a classical management problem of comparing samples for equality and then classification based on the differences. If there was no difference, where did classification come from? Mostly the comparison happens based on the tangible attributes – possessions, family, caste and creed. The intangible attributes are actually overlooked because they cannot be measured. And anything that cannot be measured, cannot be compared.
A staple food during lunch in the north of India is chapatti and pulses. Almost everyone eats the same food. But no two kitchens produce the same taste of pulses or cooks exactly the same type of chapatti. In south of India, invariably everyone easts sambhar and rice. But they are never the same across the various kitchens despite using the same ingredients. Almost all of us went to school wearing the uniforms. Yet not all of us were the same. Each one of us grew up hearing the stories from Ramayana or Mahabharata. But we all heard the same stories in a different way. Some days we empathized with Rama, while the other day we empathized with Surpanakha, who was punished for voicing her love. It's these subtle messages that start shaping up the mind with the thoughts and later become opinions. And before you know the person next door having the same meals as you and listening to the same stories turns out to be different from you.
The 3B Model "Business = Behavior = Belief" is very well explained by Dr Devdutta Pattnaik. And trust me it holds true 100% of the time. It states that the Business or an act of transaction is affected by the behavior of the parties involved. And the behavior is affected by the beliefs of everyone involved in this transaction. While you can measure the transaction, you are unable to measure the behavior. In order to understand the expected behavior, you must try to understand their beliefs. The beliefs or the thoughts and opinions define the stance one takes while in a situation.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote "All men are created equal", he certainly missed the inequality that the men created amongst themselves.