In Congress, July 4, 1776, the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America declared, among various things, that we are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
I want you to focus your attention on the last four words; “The Pursuit of Happiness”. In those days colonial people believed that part of their happiness depended on breaking free from the British, and in fact it was. They definitely felt relieved and “happy” after getting their freedom. Now, the question is; what do Americans need to feel happiness nowadays? How does our pursuit of happiness differ from our funding fathers’? What does pursuit of happiness mean for us?
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I believe the happiness that Americans long for today is most certainly much different than that of our founding fathers. I feel that most Americans today are so set on the material aspect of happiness, so much so that their pursuit of happiness becomes a pursuit of material things that they can show off to people.
ReplyDeleteI for one do not believe things bring people happiness. Americans need to start to think about what is really important in life like family, friends, and good health. These are the things that should make someone happy. While being successful and having nice things is certainly something that one should feel good about, it is not what makes a person happy. You can have the nicest house, car, and clothes in the world, but if you do not have family or friends to share them with, are you really going to be happy?
Although today’s “pursuit of happiness” is much different from that of our founding fathers, it still is based on the same premise; the struggle for equality and escaping oppression. Nowadays it is important to focus our attention toward equal opportunity for women in the work place. It is also imperative that we work towards the abolition of racism and bigotry. We need to give gay couples the same rights as that of heterosexual couples. These things are what will truly bring the people of America happiness. It’s not about how much money one can hoard or any of the other material things. It’s about our rights and having the freedom to exercise them.
ReplyDeleteJust as Sarah said, our idea of the "Pursuit of Happiness" has the same premise that it had when our founding fathers created the Declaration of Independence. The "Pursuit of Happiness" nowadays is all about having alot of possessions. The US population has become very materialistic since Jefferson's days. To some people, happiness is not all about being well-balanced in all areas of your life; it's about being successful and having commodities such as yachts, nice cars, mansions, name-brand clothes, etc. People are not simplistic or easy to please.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, a man named Henry Thoreau emphasized through his work how materialistic people were and how dangerous that was to society. One would think that back then he didn't really make sense because they didn't have the technological advances like we do today. But he really makes a point when you look at how unsanctified America is today.
I believe that happiness is different depending on the person. Upper class people who have money think that what they buy will make them happy, where they go on vacation will bring them joy, and what kind of car they have will keep them content. That is the materialistic side of society. The side that shows how the "pursuit of happiness" has changed since the Founding Father's vision.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a part of America that strives for what Jefferson wrote about. Civil Rights advocated strive for equality so that every citizen in this country can find happiness. Gay Rights advocates strive for homosexuals to be happy with their life partners. Feminists also strive for equal rights for women and minorities to be happy with their role in society. I believe that America is split between materialistic happiness and then the actual "pursuit of happiness" that Jefferson saw.
American values do seem to be on a downfall. Happiness is based upon the individual's lifestyle. But there is still some true citizens that believe in equality and the "pursuit of happiness" in it's tue form.
Happiness is something that everyone’s always looking for but you can't really explain what it is. To different people it may be different things. Most people think that money can buy happiness but i disagree. There are many people in the world who have millions even billions of dollars but still aren't happy, and on the other hand there are people in the world who don't have that much money but are happy. To me and probably many other people today happiness isn't about money it’s about loving your life and the people in it.
ReplyDeleteI think that today people get happiness from a variety of things. One of the major reasons for happiness is to love your job. Other ways people can get happy can involve numerous things such as doing something you love, volunteering, and enjoying the company of people. Many people think that having alot of money will make them happy and in many situations this is not the case. The people who founded this country came over from England with nothing, yet they were able to find happiness with their lives. So it is not the possesions you have that will make you happy, it's doing what you love and enjoying lfe.
ReplyDeleteI think most people today in the American society would define happiness as having a lot of money, or other useless posessions. But I agree with what Perror said in the last sentence. It isn't the posessions you have that will make you happy but it's what you love and enjoy in life. A classic example of this is celebraties. They have so much money and there are still many of them that aren't happy at all. Happiness has to come from within, from the heart. I feel that to be truly happy you have to love what it is. In regard to what the founding fathers' found as happiness, I believe happiness for them was freedom and it is what we take for granted. If we didn't have the freedom we have today , we definitely would be happy to have freedom. Happiness is also a very complicated topic.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is an important document that has shaped and defined American history. Studying this document can be important when looking at America's past, present, and future.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the "Pursuit of Happiness" as defined by the Declaration of Independence I view it in a very broad sense. The wording of this phrase is significant. The document does not ensure happiness or happiness from life, but the persuit. The journey and search for happiness is sometimes better than the state of bliss itself.
Material things alone do not make a person genuinely happy. I believe that material things and affluence can absolutley add to happiness and make life easier and more comfortable. Happiness is a wonderful thing because it is unique to each person. I suppose that it is possible for someone to be truly happy with only material things, though I have not met anyone with such beliefs. Material things are not equivalent to human interaction and relationships. The material things get old, people are in a constant state of change and it keeps life incredibly interesting.
I personally do not think that happiness means perfection. In fact, perfection is dull and predictable. My happiness is my family, friends, and experiencing and learning about everything around me.
When I think of "Pursuit of happiness", the word pursuit stands out to me. It is everyones right to pursue their own happiness but that does not guarantee that it will be achieved. I think happiness can be found during your pusuit of the ultimate happiness. Happiness to me is being able to live life everyday, with the people you love, doing the things you love to do. Ultimate happiness is an utopian feeling, it is not something that can be achieved easily, if at all. I am satisfied with the happiness I have in life. Sometimes it is worth having those bad moments or days because then when happiness happens it feels that much better.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with tiernoa in that people today are overly focused on having material objects. For some that brings a lot of happiness. However, in the long run how will these material things bring happiness? They are simply objects that may bring a quick ease to the pain or unhappiness someone may be experiencing however, that won’t be the case forever. People will always have something better than what you do. We will never have all we want. We are lucky enough to have what we do have, including our families, friends, homes, food; many do not even have that. In a sense we as people are always, "trying to keep up with the Jones'." This concept of not being good enough has been instilled over generations. I agree with the statement that, "Americans today are so set of the material aspect of happiness." Money and objects will never be enough however, the things you cannot buy such as friends and family are the things, which bring long-term happiness and are in a sense "priceless".
ReplyDeleteWe can find people pursuing happiness everywhere, not just in a Will Smith movie! (The Pursuit of Happiness for those of you who do not know) My idea of happiness and the way I go about achieving it is much different than America’s founding fathers did. My description of happiness means being o.k. with yourself and liking who you are and what you do. Other people’s interpretation of happiness may have to do with money. Whatever our definition of happiness is, we’re always on a journey searching for it.
ReplyDeleteNowadays most Americans are more worried about what is going on with the economy and health care than what the Declaration of Independence says. If however, people actually thought about what this document says I'm sure they'd think otherwise. For me, the "Pursuit of Happiness" means that you should be able to do whatever makes you happy without having any repercussions or things blocking you from doing it. Our view of happiness as compared to that of the founding fathers is not much different aside from the time period that the founding fathers were in. It still remains relatively the same, just altered for the times.
ReplyDeleteThe "pursuit of happiness" in today's world is a little different than how our founding fathers spoke of it. People today all have their own ideas of what makes them happy and what different objects feed to those feelings. The meaning of this is that each person is in "pursuit" of their happiness, which doesn’t necessarily mean they have it or will have it. In order to be able to do this, it is necessary to do what you feel is right and what you enjoy, regardless of what others think, you shouldn’t be judged or placed in certain categories according to what you do. The meaning of the happiness is to do what you want, not what others want of you. You need to be okay with yourself and with the choices you make. Feelings change, so you are always in search of this "happiness."
ReplyDeleteAs was mentioned before in others responses, happiness today is often thought of as being able to do what you what when you want. Also, we are taught that the only way to do this is to have money. In reality, happiness is "a peaceful kind of pleasurable satifaction in which one rests without desires" as defined by your everyday common dictionary. The key words here are "without desires." If pepole could just be satisfied with what they have while doing what they enjoy, we would not desire. Money is important and it can be used for many good reasons like giving back to the community or paying for an education. In society today, we get caught up in wanting more than just the essentials. Living simply can lead to the lifestyle of "wasting not and wanting not." When we no longer feel want and desire, we can truly find happiness.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there is really no way we can define and explain what made American's happy in history and what makes us happy now. Happiness is on an individual level. You can argue that our founding fathers found happiness in just being free, which is something most Americans take for granted today. That does not speak for everyone though. There may have been people who needed more than just freedom to be happy, there could have been citizens that were happy with the way their lives were under the control of Great Britain, however unlikely that may be. I do believe that our happiness today is more materialistic then it was for our founding fathers but, again, that generalization is not true for everyone. There are still people that are happy with just having the ability to live in a country like the United States and then there are the people who aren't happy unless they have an endless amount of money and endless amount of materialistic things. Happiness can only be explained on an individual level, other than that it's is inexplicable.
ReplyDeleteToday American's have varying opinions of what true happiness is. Some could describe happiness as being an established person, for example, people spend years in school to become something they see fit in order to achieve this happiness. Some find true pleasure in just material posessions, like having the money to get the new car, the big house, and the best clothes. Some find happiness in helping other people. Years upon years ago, the founding fathers struggled for happiness that was altogether what everyone wanted, to srive away from the british and create a successful civilization where people could all live as one. I would say that today, it's more about the individual, which is why you can't really generalize what happiness is to everyone, but to one specific person. Today there are so many people here, and all for different reasons. Of course you could group them together and say this group needs money to be happy, or this group may need to become citizens to be happy, perhaps even these people need to be successful to be happy. Everyone has a plan separate from anyone elses plan nowadays and it's all a matter of what it takes to achieve that happiness. In short, I feel that there are so many definitions of what makes one person happy that it is hard to put your finger on just one definition of what makes one happy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you could say that mostly everyone wants to picture themselves living in a house with a family. You could say everyone would like security in their lives and that we all share that same sense of wanting stability in our lives. No matter who you are as a person you always want things to be stable and not to have to worry about something.
Could happiness be defined after all as the achievement of stability and security or is it people's own personal wants that overide that sense of happiness?