APAD: Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness

Meaning: The three most important rights as defined in the Declaration of

Independence.

 

Background: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created

equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,

that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" - Thomas

Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

 

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They, the Founding Fathers, must have debated on the structure, the wording, and

above all the message. Life and liberty are straightforward but 'the pursuit of

happiness' is ingenious. Happiness is slippery, ephemeral, and a bottomless pit.

As soon as a desire is satisfied, the mind at once craves for more or something

different. The pursuit itself cannot be more real and perennial, however, and

the collective wealth is a byproduct of this burning call for fulfillment. The authors

must have been keenly aware that the new nation they were bringing upon the

earth stands on the strength of the story alone.

 

所有跟帖： 

• 三公理。据说美国宪法是按牛顿力学的原则建立在这三个公理上的。 -方外居士- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:03:01

• 还有这说法？：）） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:34:41

• Any reference for this claim? -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:35:23

• The founding fathers were so great that -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:40:37

• they defined these three most important rights -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:41:33

• in the Declaration of Independence. -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 11:42:04

• The ideas that formed the Constitution, Part 17: Sir Isaac N -方外居士- ♂ (333 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 12:19:04

• +1 Such elaborate machinery of the three ideals. -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 13:20:56

• Superb:Balance and order. All very Newtonian-1776-now -TJKCB- ♀ (4183 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 13:23:57

• Wow ~ ~ thanks 4 sharing ~ ~ -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/13/2023 postreply 06:07:04

• The Pursuit of Happiness: It focuses on a process of action -TJKCB- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 13:25:25

• I'd be careful. The process could be unhappy&it can kill:-) -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 14:03:09

• missing the point: "The Pursuit of Happiness" goal -TJKCB- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 15:14:38

• Missing the point is what I do best :-) -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 15:18:23

• The people who wrote this were slave owners. -waterfowl- ♂ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 13:32:18

• A good reminder. -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 14:05:29

• not really historical: the founding fathers were slaves UK -TJKCB- ♀ (0 bytes) () 11/12/2023 postreply 14:55:28