It struck me as a nontraditional statement of values by the U.S. government. One can't help but read the four words and the "forever" designation of the stamps' value as a unified phrase. Read this way, the stamps say "Liberty forever," "Freedom forever," "Justice forever," and "Equality forever." I'm okay with the first two, because there is little confusion or disagreement about freedom and liberty. Justice, to me, means that all people are treated equally by the government without regard to station, race, religion. Equality is the same, we are all created equal, and as Americans we can succeed beyond our beginnings.
The left sees justice and equality as something that the government imposes on the people. Justice is no longer blind, it sees the inequalities and works to make them more fair. This leads to tribalism and divisiveness as competing groups fight for "justice" and "equality" for their preferred group. Finally, people's freedoms are compromised in the interest of "fairness," "equality," and "justice."
The Declaration states: "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 the pursuit of Happiness."
Dennis Prager has his U.S. trinity that can be found on any coin: Liberty, e pluribus unum (from the many one), and In God We Trust.
For me, it's the five freedoms, under which all other rights exist.
1. The first freedom is life. A just nation protects citizens life through just laws, law enforcement, and national defense. In totalitarian societies, the life of individual citizens is always secondary to the good of the nation, which is why communists and other totalitarians kill so many of their own citizens.
2. The second freedom is freedom of conscience. We have the freedom to believe and argue for what we believe to be true. This is a freedom that I think we could lose. I am a firm believer in traditional marriage, but I could foresee a time in America when a person who thinks marriage between a man and a woman is an idea that is punishable. Totalitarian countries hate freedom of conscience, and they jail, silence, and kill those who disagree with the state's decisions.
3. The third freedom is the freedom of movement. In a free country, people move about without checking in with governmental officials. They drive cars, sail boats, and fly on airplanes when and where they see fit. Totalitarian states always limit people's movements because they hate not controlling where people live and work.
4. The fourth freedom is the freedom to own property. When you own your own land or you own your own house, then there is a piece of the earth where you are ruler of your domain. Totalitarian societies hate the ownership of property. Everything is owned by the state, and the citizen is a serf of the state.
5. The fifth freedom is the freedom of choices. This is not the so called "freedom of choice," which actually takes away someone's freedom of life, but the freedom to choose to buy this item instead of that item. To educate yourself in this way rather than that way. I see this freedom as the material twin of the freedom of conscience. That is freedom in the mental sphere, where this is freedom in the material sphere. This freedom is waning even in America today. Whether it's lightbulbs, fireplaces, toilets, or education, the statists chip away at our freedom to make choices.