Have things changed much over the past 168 years?
Quoting a letter written in 1855 by a soon-to-be-famous politician:
“ … Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we begin by declaring that “all men are created equal.” We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except [minorities]. When [they] get control, it will read “all men are created equal, except [minorities], and foreigners, and [certain religious groups].” When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”