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July 4, 2013

The Right to Happiness

libertyhappy

"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."
That seems like a silly goal. What kind of great nation gets started by asserting that government exists to allow people to be happy? But look at the common condition of any tyranny. Take in that sense of 1984ness and its most obvious characteristic is unhappiness. People are persistently unhappy under a tyranny, whether they are rich or poor, because they are robbed of the necessary freedom to pursue individual happiness. They are not allowed to be individuals. -- Dan Greenfield # Sultan Knish

Posted by gerardvanderleun at July 4, 2013 7:34 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

A lot of people have tried to find a way to spin this alleged right and make it work over the years. Basically what happened, I think, is that Thomas Jefferson spent too much time in France and came back bastardizing Locke's life, liberty, and property to the "pursuit of happiness" because it pleased his French buddies.

Nobody can interfere with your "right" to PURSUE happiness. That's not even a right, its just something people do.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at July 4, 2013 1:43 PM

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