According to the law, net worth apparently does discriminate based on your earning potential.

That point was cruelly driven home to me when Bryan was a teenager of fourteen.

It was the first day of school – Bryan’s second year of Junior High school.

I was busy at work when my boss came to me and solemnly informed me that two of Bryan’s best friends had been involved in a serious accident on their way to school that first day. The front axel of their district-sanctioned vehicle had fallen off, causing the car to careen into a telephone pole.

One of Bryan’s friends was going to be okay once recovered from his injuries. The other one was not so lucky. He was in intensive care in serious condition. A week later he succumbed to his injuries.

At the funeral I learned a disturbing fact from the grieving mother. In pursuing a lawsuit for her son’s death, she learned that her Down Syndrome son’s life was not worth as much as a “normal” child’s would be. The earning potential of a person with disabilities is significantly less when joining the world of work as an adult. She was told this cruelness by her State Representative. As a result, a grieving family trying to get some financial consolation was taught a very hard lesson, adding insult to injury. A lesson so difficult the family eventually moved away to a different state.

Are “all men created equal”, truly? Not yet.

Are all created equal in the sight of God? Without a doubt.