“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.”
Penned by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, this radical proclamation at first glance seems simple and straightforward. Most confusing of all, perhaps, is the “pursuit of happiness.”
The Meaning of Happiness
Some Americans today take literally the pursuit of happiness, chasing after it their whole lives with a butterfly net. They become a version of Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby: “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther … And one fine morning—”
