Pursuing Happiness
I love our Declaration of Independence. Perhaps it’s because I’m an American and it’s been so deeply imprinted into our collective psyche. The Declaration defines how we Americans view freedom and liberty, not just for ourselves but for all of humanity.
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.
Important words:
- Truths that are self-evident
- Humans that are all created equal
- Unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness that have endowed by our Creator
These three statements are expressions of natural law. It matters not whether they come from your beliefs of a Creator, or whether you’re an atheist who believes they stem from the force of reason. Either way, we take them as unquestionably true and thereby declare they are undeniably part of our shared humanity.
I doubt, though, that many of us would interpret these statements in any absolute sense. When it comes to playing in the NBA, I’m certainly no equal to those whose height far surpasses mine (a compact 5’7”). And we’re certainly not all born into equal environments when it comes to being adequately nourished and loved. Even equality of opportunity, a seemingly more achievable objective, will likely always evade us. There are simply too many human frailties and failings that will always stand in the way of actual physical or material equality.
Our shared equality is equality of value. There is no doubt that some of us are more artistic or more athletic. Some are more intellectual or more creative. Some are stronger or more skilled. But equality-of-value demands that we, as well as our governments, value each other equally.
When every human is equally valued, we aspire for everyone to achieve whatever potential they desire for their lives. When every human is equally valued, we will be predisposed to increase prosperity and reduce suffering. When every human is equally valued, respect for human diversity in its many forms will be unquestioned.
Those too short to get a high-paying NBA job will still be able to realize their human potential. Those born into poor or dysfunctional families will still be able to realize their human potential. Those afflicted with misfortune will still be able to realize their human potential.
Realizing individual human potential requires that each of us have our rights protected, by government as well as by each other. We need to recognize, though that rights, like equality, are not absolute. Though we might debate the morality of the death penalty as violating right to life, few would disagree with the premise that taking another’s life to defend one’s own is not immoral. Who would argue that my liberty stops at the point of taking the life, liberty, or happiness that you rightly enjoy? Who would argue that my rights begin to diminish at the point they begin to collide with yours?
Thomas Jefferson clearly recognized liberty’s limits:
Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.
And what about that “pursuit of Happiness” thing? It shouldn’t be interpreted too strictly either. We should not take these words as code for a selfish, greedy, or self-indulgent lifestyle (though some will inevitably choose to live such a lifestyle and thus remain stuck in the lower levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).
Most of us assume much more when we think of happiness. Our feelings of happiness also stem from intimacy with our chosen partner, time spent with family and our chosen friends, and being a contributing member of the fabric of civil society. We are individual and social animals whose happiness comes from self-esteem as well as being valued by others. A full human life pursues happiness through individual choices for work, community involvement, self-actualization, altruism, and spirituality.
The historical record makes it clear that this is what Jefferson meant when he substituted “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for John Locke’s “life, liberty, and property”.
The Declaration of Independence goes on to assert that government must not be destructive of our unalienable rights, and that it must be altered or abolished when it fails to protect.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
We have just gone through a very divisive presidential election and are now living through its disorienting aftermath. By now, though, it is clear that voters have chosen to institute a new federal government, even though half the country is sorely disappointed in the result.
But it’s also Thanksgiving, a time to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for, a time to give thanks for a country with the wonderful aspirations enumerated in our Declaration of Independence. No matter who one voted for in the last election, we are all still entitled to those unalienable rights.
There are perhaps no better thoughts to remember as we pursue ways to heal the deep divisions that plague our nation right now. Our collective happiness depends on it.
