Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness - Essay Example

Introduction Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness are one of the most well-known declaration ments in the Declaration for Independence of United States of America. The phrase actually outlines overall philosophy and vision of forefathers of America in terms of how overall American society will actually progress and what its citizens will be entitled. It outlines the basic assertion that all human beings have been given by the God the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and institution of government is actually formed to ensure that these rights become achievable. Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness therefore are considered as ethos of the American society and determine the overall American dream. The right to preserve the life has liberty and pursuit of happiness therefore was the basic promise State actually made to its citizens as one of its basic duties towards citizens. This paper will discuss the philosophy of the founding fathers of the nation and whether US, as a country, has been able to build a society based upon achieving all three ethos. Though the founding fathers of the nation envisioned a future for the citizens of new State where everyone will be treated equally and with equal right to life, liberty and happiness however, despite being the largest economy in the world, US has actually failed to ensure preservation of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Life , Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness life, liberty and pursuit of happiness is a phrase which outline and indicate the unalienable rights given to all human beings by the God and the institution of government is formed to protect those rights. Jefferson’s original draft suggests that all men are created equal and from this creation, each of them derive and inherent the right to preservation of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The overall emphasis therefore is upon creation of men as equal and from within this equality, all men have the undeniable rights to preserve the life, have liberty and pursue the happiness. While this phrase is one of the well-known phrases in the declaration however, it is argued that Jefferson was largely influenced by Locke when he decided to include this phrase in declaration. Though, the original draft of Jefferson was refined subsequently however, debate remains regarding what were the actual influences on Jefferson to include this in the original draft. (Jillson) One argument is based upon the assumption that Jefferson was impressed by what Locke termed as the protection of property. Locke suggested that the very purpose of political society is to actually protect the property of individuals. Property, according to Locke, comprises of life, liberty or freedom and estate. Jefferson however, replaced the word estate with the word pursuit of happiness. Life Life primarily means that society should be able to sustain life at individual level. However, at the greater level, life itself encompasses the rights of individuals to live a secure, healthy, comfortable and successful life. On a greater scale, life also means that the political society shall take all necessary steps to actually ensure that individuals do not suffer and die at the younger age. Besides, preservation of life also means that society shall not take any endeavors for which citizens have to sacrifice their lives and such endeavors need not to have any link with the personal dreams. (Hopper and Hopper) US however, has a history of conflicts and war where society and the State actually failed to protect the lives of its citizens. The events of 9/11 and subsequent entry of US into many conflicts at the global level put the overall lives of the individual Americans at greater risk. Apart from this, US has also been part of the greater conflicts including World War II, Vietnam war and other conflicts which resulted into the loss of innocent American lives. Further, though the country has been able to develop one of the finest health systems in the world however, it is expensive and comparatively out of the reach of ordinary Americans. (Bradley). The healthcare plan put forward by President Obama however can be considered as one of the efforts to make healthcare accessible to the common Americans and to make it more affordable and convenient. Liberty The word liberty and freedom was often used together when the Declaration of Independence was being written. The concept of liberty clearly outlines the ability to choose freely and have the free will to do whatever one wants to do while remaining within the acceptable norms of the society. Liberty therefore also denotes the notion of having control over one’s destiny and remaining without the influence of any external force or entity. (Samuel) America has been able to achieve this ideal and also strived towards creating an environment at the global level so that people across the world remain free from the influence of others. The liberty is also something which was the essence of patriots who fought against the government which attempted to intervene into their liberty. Liberty therefore was the overall collective mindset of the general public at that time. (Rakove) US has been able to offer liberty to the individuals and the general environment is that of allowing individuals to pursue their own goals without significant intervention from the government. Over the period of time, US has not only abolished slavery, gave equal rights to black population, allowing women the right of suffrage, protecting the rights of homosexuals as well as other legislations which potentially has allowed American citizens to live with liberty and without the control of State. (Cashmore and Cashmore). However, it is also critical to note that recent scandals regarding surveillance of emails and other personal data of American citizens suggests that State may not be protecting the liberty of its citizens. Pursuit of Happiness It is critical to note that the word happiness may not be the same as it is generally now perceived. The current perception about happiness is that of the joy and pleasure however, at the time of declaration, happiness was largely considered as one’s ability to actually realize his full potential. The pursuit of happiness therefore refers to the freedom given to individuals to take on any profession to realize their full potential. Over the period of time, there have been greater and wider income differences between the average Americans and the rich. The widening income inequality suggests that the State may not be successful for creating equal opportunities for all to help its citizens to realize the full potential. Only few of the rich has been able to realize their full potential and achieved their dreams and financial freedom. (Brueggemann) Half of the American population still believes that the economic system of country favors wealthy. Income inequality is especially on the rise since 1970s. Recent estimates suggest that top 1% of the population in the country is actually receiving over 22% of the pre-tax income in the country whereas the 99% of the population is competing against the remaining pre-tax income of 78% suggesting a wider level of inequality within the system. (Desilver) This inequality is mostly due to the inherent weaknesses of the economic system adapted by US i.e. capitalism which seems to favor the rich and punish the poor. Laws are mostly in favor of those who have capital and are willing to open or operate at the national as well as international level however, the income gap between those with capital and those who are workers is relatively high. These figures therefore clearly outlines that the American dream of the pursuit of happiness may be for wealthy only and majority of the population has actually failed to realize its true potential and is earning income which is widely skewed in favor of rich and wealthy of the nation. (Neill) Conclusion The ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was one of the cornerstones of the American dream. Jefferson, while writing the phrase in the declaration of independence may have envisioned a future for the Americans which were to be based upon preserving life, having liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The founding fathers of the nation therefore wanted a future where individual liberty and the ability to realize one’s potential was of the paramount importance. It was therefore the duty and obligation of the State to actually create an environment which can support the achievement of above ideals. (Greene) However, over the period of time, US may not been able to completely achieve all these ideals. US has been constantly at threat which are both internal as well as external though it has been dealing with them while incurring loss of human lives. Individual liberty is protected and granted by the State however, the recent revelations suggest that US government has been spying on its own citizens and there are serious privacy issues emerging especially after the NSA leaks by Snowden and others. It is also important to note that widespread inequalities still persist in income level of Americans indicating that the American capitalist system may be heavily in favor of wealthy few. Works Cited Bradely, A , Positive rights, negative rights and health care Journal of Medical Ethics 838-841 Brueggemann , John Rich, Free, and Miserable: The Failure of Success in America New YorkRowman & Littlefield Publishers 2010 Cashmore, Elis, Beyond Black: Celebrity and Race in Obamas America New York A&C Black 2012 Desilver, Drew, U.S. income inequality, on rise for decades, is now highest since 1928 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/12/05/u-s-income-inequality-on-rise-for-decades-is-now-highest-since-1928/ Greene, Jack, P, Values and Society in Revolutionary America Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science426197653-69 Hopper, Ken & Hooper, Will, The Puritan Gift: Reclaiming the American Dream Amidst Global Financial Chaos California I. B. Tauris2009 Jillson, Cal, Pursuing the American Dream: Opportunity and Exclusion Over Four Centuries KansasUniversity Press of Kansas2004 Neil, Katherine, A, The Gap Problem: Socioeconomic Inequalities and Their Significance for the Democratic Ideal Administrative Theory & Praxis3422012255-271 Rakove, Jack , Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America New YorkHoughton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers2010 Samuel, Lawrance, The American Dream: A Cultural History New YorkSyracuse University Press2012 Read More