Declaration of Independence

"We hold these truths self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the      Pursuit of Happiness."

You know these words, everyone who has grown up in America knows these words, but when is the last time you prodded past the pronunciation, the memorization, and towards the actual meaning of this iconic message?

 My interest lately has fallen upon the third intrinsic right of mankind, and the second paragraph the Declaration promises. The Pursuit of Happiness. 

 What was our founding fathers trying to give to us? For them it may have meant a pursuit of happiness under no restrictions from an oppressive kingdom, or perhaps an unmeasurable standard to instill belief towards, or hopefully they meant much more.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed and sent to the king, it stated no new ideas, no new tones of life, and no new rhetoric unfamiliar to man. It may have been a symbol of the first times these ideas have been so articulately addressed into writing, but life, liberty, and especially the pursuit of happiness had been engraved into the genetics of every sleeping man and women across our newly formed nation.

Where's Waldo?

I would dare say that our founding fathers were not inventing new concepts, but trying to encourage those to understand a freedom that does not come free at all. A freedom that comes at the price of discovery, learning, and of course, failures. These rights are a part of us just as much as our thoughts, emotions, and understandings of the world are. The founding fathers did not give us these rights, but instead guaranteed and challenged us to use them.

So the question is, where are you on the pursuit of what makes you happy? 

-BDL