Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Think about it. Ever since a young age, we've been taught that the United States provides to every single citizen the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But what defines liberty? What is the pursuit of happiness? Why are these so valued in America? As stated in the declaration, every man is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Even life, a term that may seem easy to define for people, can be interpreted in different ways.
For many years, the ideas of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness have been depicted as a stable foundation of rock on which the country is built upon. These rights have been considered a fundamental part in how the United States was built and how it still operates today. Contrary to popular belief however, the meaning of these rights have been constantly fluctuating throughout history and among the minds of the people. While taking a look back into the past, it is obvious that the rights delegated to our predecessors were different to the ones we have today. For example, while in the past the right to the pursuit of happiness for women meant raising children and supporting her husband, currently women take the pursuit of happiness very differently; They are free to seek out a career in a field they wish to study or engage in the activities that define them as a person.
In addition to this, each definition of each right differ in the minds of different people. For example, some people may define the right to life as the right to be alive. Others may define the right to life as the right for people to live their lives as they wish and to make their own decisions as an individual with his or her own life. The meaning of each of these is subjective; each of these symbolize different things for different people and is dependent on the personal experience and thought process of each person. There is no absolute or definite meaning for each of these rights and it will be inconceivable to come to a consensus due to the relentless push of time and the individuality of each person.
Love the feel on your blog :P makes me yearning for vacation. If there's no definitive value to the phrase, then who determines the actual rights a man has? Is it determined by general consensus, or are all of the rights subjective and fluctuating between citizens? I believe its this quality about the Declaration that allows it be highly regarded even as time passes. The Declaration can change to fit the circumstances of a time period. Why do humans have an urge to categorize things and compartmentalize items that might not have definitive meanings? Looking forward to more thought provoking posts :)
ReplyDeleteYour characterization of the "relentless push of time" really stuck with me. It seems like very little survives against this push, even those things ingrained in stone or scratched on parchment. One question which is burning me is whether or not this push was a result of a natural fixation toward progress or if it was a result of deficiencies within the first forms of American organization. Does the fact that Modern America reflects more of Hamilton than Jefferson profess to the fact that Hamilton was right? Can that be taken broadly and applied to every field where progress is shown? But if Einstein's theories were proven incorrect, would his work be for naught? Surely in this instance it is easier to come to the conclusion that even if Einstein's work was completely incorrect,his work itself served as the foundation for the would-be debunking. Perhaps it is neither theory or perhaps it is a combination of the two, but surely thinking about it is a step towards progress.
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