"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". Idyllic and so powerful in so few words. But, so few people really understand what it means to us, we, the American Citizens of this country.
A great place to start your research is this website:http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html ...if you look, you'll find this link: http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html and the following excerpt:
"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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed..."
It's not a Constitutional Right... as many believe. It's part of the American Declaration of Independence. Our heritage are the colonist who braved coming here, and surviving. We survived... and are continuing in or efforts to continue doing that.
My interpretation of that part of the Declaration of Independence, is that We fought for that; as we fight today. America is a place where "being Fair/playing fair", is respected, and sought after. Doesn't always happen or become that, but I believe we do try.
So although our right to the "pursuit of Happiness" is not a part of the Constitution, and rights under the Constitution, it is an essential part of who we are, what we can become, all about our beginnings and who we are as Americans, about our heritage, about how we treat others, and truly, "We hold these truths to be self-evident".
Without government there would be anarchy. But a government, "By the People, for the People," now that's something different. It affirms we can Question Authority, as it is WE who provide that authority to our government, for the public and national good. Our government is "We the People"... not the other way around... the government is NOT it's own self-entity. Our elected politicians are not autonomous and independent in their decision making abilities. Laws are not valid if not approved by US. Some laws are essential - laws prohibiting, rape, murder, kidnapping, chid abuse... other laws, civil laws which often have criminal attachments, can change... it would be an endless list, so let's just say spitting on the side-walk is disgusting, and used to be against the law, but seriously, this is a social issue, not a criminal issue.
Spitting on the sidewalk may make the spitter happy, but the spitter should have the social consciousness to understand it doesn't make others happy.
Pursuit of Happiness all comes down to common sense. We as a nation have fought wars for rights to freedom... we have held rallies, gone on marches, suffered pain at deaths as a result of our efforts. The Declaration of Independence affirms why... the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights provides the HOW.
I hope I don't need to explain what this really means... the history of the United States would have to be explained. Everything from the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement, to Women's Rights and Prohibition.
Future posts will focus on such issues... for now... have a Happy Thanksgiving. You earned it!
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