"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal" begins one of history's most famous documents, signed 234 years ago today.

Good stuff, but before we get warm and fuzzy feelings on this Fourth of July, we must remember that when the founding fathers said "all men," they meant "all men" literally. They meant men, not women and certainly not slaves of any color or sex. But wait. Neither did they mean "all men," which to the founding fathers meant "men who owned property," for only men of means could vote in the new country.

In time poor men without property were allowed to vote but it would be another 90 years before men of color could vote and 145 years before women could cast a vote in "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

When we think about how slow coming are the rights of gay people in the USA, we have to look at the history of our democracy that sadly has been tainted by racism and misogyny on the part of homophobic politicians.

On this Fourth of July, we celebrate our democracy and hope for the quick coming of the day when "all men" really means all people: male or female; black or white; rich or poor; gay or straight.