As we celebrate Independence Day, Strawn discusses what "pursuit of happiness" is commonly thought to mean today, what our founders meant, and how a "thick" understanding of happiness can be a better guide for both
individuals and nations.
pa, kaze:
Arthur Schlesinger should be credited with pointing out in a nice little essay in 1964 that at the time of the Declaration's composition, "the pursuit of happiness"
did not mean chasing or seeking it, but actually practicing happiness, the experience of happiness — not just chasing it but actually catching it, you might say.
This is demonstrated by documents that are contemporary with the Declaration, but also by the Declaration itself, in the continuation of the same sentence that contains "the pursuit of happiness" phrase. The continuation speaks of
effecting people's safety and happiness. But the clearest explanation might be the Virginia Convention's Declaration of Rights, which dates to June 12, 1776, just a few weeks before July 4. The Virginia Declaration actually speaks of the
"pursuing and obtaining" of happiness.
pravo u metu, svako ima pravo da bude srecan, a ne nesrecnik da samo pokusava:
Why does this difference matter?
Seeking happiness is one thing but actually
obtaining it and
experiencing it —
practicing happiness! — is an entirely different matter. It's the difference between dreaming and reality. Remember that the pursuit of happiness, in the Declaration, is not a
quest or a
pastime, but
"an unalienable right." Everyone has the right to actually be happy, not just try to be happy.
e, ali vama su draze fasisticke komunisticke i razne druge ideologije koje smucuju kako pojedince tako i citave nacije, a pravo na srecu AMERIMA SAMO.