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The reference was to various characters in the Shakespearean play, "Hamlet". I'm not sure there's actually a "guard #2", but I take it you get the point. Hamlet is the most important character in the play, Polonius is an important character, but definitely not the most important, and guard #2 isn't very important at all.
I'm just trying to get at what you mean by 'equal' if you don't mean it in terms of value. You said that we're equal in that we all have our parts to play, but how is it equality if we're all playing different parts?
A number of people here have mentioned societal equality as being a worthy goal. I'm not sure I agree. I certainly think that justice is a higher goal than equality, and since justice is everybody getting what they deserve, equality of outcome is not necessarily going to be the most just outcome (though some distribution of goods which is Pareto efficient probably is going to be -- cf. Theory of Justice). In theory, equality of opportunity is, I think, a good thing, but given the fact that we have limited resources, I wonder if it is even possible to provide this.
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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."
"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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