Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The ideas behind those words have different meanings to people and the thoughts behind that text, have evolved over the years. For some the idea of life and the idea of safeguarding it takes precedence. To others, the ideas of liberty and the autonomy of self, take even greater precedence. Lastly...who are we to decide what the pursuit of happiness means to over 300 million citizens?These three ideas form the basis for our society. While certain aspects may be of more importance depending upon which individual you speak to, each one is important in its own right. The three form a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship that binds the idea of this nation together.As we examine the idea of preserving one's life, we can with absolute certainty say that you, the individual have a right to live, to exist, to breathe the air and stride out on your own to make your dreams come true. Should anyone exercise an action that put's your right to live in peril, you have within your means the ability to preserve your life as responsibly as you can.

Within that right to life, is your life really your own if you have not liberty? The famous quote from "Braveheart" comes to mind. "Every man dies, but every man truly lives." If we live without liberty are we truly living? Many of our forefathers would venture to say no, as they proclaimed "Give me liberty or give me death!"Finally with the idea of pursuing happiness. The original text was meant to include the ownership of property, but rather the founding fathers gave a broader definition, illustrating that objects or possessions are not always the source of our happiness. Instead, they wished we sought a deeper understanding into the ideas of life and liberty, that we are free to live freely and seek our own means of joy on this terrestrial plane.

For life, for liberty, for the ability to pursue our own happiness, we will fight, and this...we'll defend.