Life, Liberty, and Happiness
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COMMENTARY
The Declaration of Independence
talks about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
"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."
- The unalienable right to life (i.e., birth)
but no "right" to a long life,
nor to any length of life at all!
- The unalienable right to the "pursuit" of happiness
but no "right" to happiness itself.
- The unalienable right to liberty,
as in the freedom to choose, without restriction, to do anything you darn well please:
- Kill your neighbor
- Sleep with your neighbor's wife (hey, lots of C-street Senators do it.)
- Steal ideas
- Lie
- Destroy the environment
- Put your neighbor out of business
- ...
Of course, all of this may be a moot point as the courts only pay attention the U.S.Constitution and not to the Declaration of Independence.
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* - - See HTA
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This and other student commentaries are available in the University Library.
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