Pursuit of Happiness
2 great philosophers, Dr. Pfister and Aristotle, meet for the first time.
Congratulations everybody! We made it through over half this year and, interestingly, look at how a year has changed our family summer schedules, to the point that we are actually looking forward to vacations this summer and great family get-togethers for this year’s Fourth of July celebration.
Yes, a lot has changed, as section by section of our country (and life) returns to as near-normal as possible. Interesting, though, how little mankind and our society has changed since that year in Philadelphia, when a group of our Founding Fathers appointed Thomas Jefferson to write up a separation document to separate us from the tyranny of Great Britain.
Just like our government today, according to Wikipedia, The Continental Congress made 86 changes to Jefferson’s original draft before it was accepted on July 4, 1776! Its basic premise was that the Thirteen Colonies were fed up with Great Britain; and the Declaration of Independence was their announcement and explanation to Britain and the world of their intent to establish America as an independent country.
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence based on five basic principles. I thought it would be appropriate, coming upon our Nation’s birthday, to revisit these principles and see how we have changed (or not changed) since their inception.
Principle One - All men are created equal.
Jefferson used the word “men” with a non-gender specific usage. Probably wouldn’t fly today! Need to be more specific and should also cover gender conversions. Phew, life is much more complicated today!
Principle Two - Purpose of government is to protect your rights.
As long as your rights don’t conflict with another group’s rights, who has a better attorney. Or as long as your rights don’t lie on the path of a pipeline or newly proposed highway.
Principle Three - Power of the government comes from the People.
It would if everyone would vote! Along with voting, everyone needs to take civil pride and responsibility and run for an office or get involved with someone else’s campaign. I have personally served as President of our Medina County Dental Society five times and represented Medina in Columbus for two decades at our state dental level as a delegate. You can actually feel the pulse and power of government when you get involved. Sitting on the couch and complaining is weak and un-American!
Principle Four - Right of revolution.
Yes, even today, we are pretty good at starting fights and burning down edifices that go against our personal feelings. Humanity, with vastly more education and progress behind our ears than our Forefathers, still likes to go hand-to-hand and mix it up even though sitting down and talking out the pros and cons from both sides has always proven to be more productive. You just won’t make the evening news!
Last but not least, Principle Five - Unalienable rights endowed by our Creator.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that every human being has certain unalienable rights which include Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Wow, what did we talk about last week but self-actualization and happiness (with Maslow’s Hierarchy Triangle and Nature’s Pyramid as our focus). This finding happiness concept seems to be like looking for a needle in a haystack; and, throughout the years, brilliant minds have focused their attention on its pursuit, not always with success.
Let’s take a closer look at the brilliant mind of our forefather, Jefferson, and how he viewed human happiness now divorced from Great Britain...
The philosophy that Jefferson wrote about was not an original idea of his, but was the current expression of the American mind by writers of this period. According to the Center for Civic Education, Jefferson’s phrase “Pursuit of Happiness” was taken from John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), which explored how the human mind works. His interesting conclusion was that “the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness”!
Does this not sound like the self-actualization and happiness found at the pinnacle of Maslow’s Triangle and the happiness found off the grid at the peak of Nature’s Pyramid?
Locke goes on to say that this continuous pursuit of happiness is part of a human’s unchangeable nature. Interestingly, Locke and Jefferson learned from ancient philosophers, especially Aristotle, that our choices along the path to happiness have moral and ethical concerns and dimensions, and without a solid moral virtue there cannot be true happiness!
Yes, many of our choices have social consequences and this pursuit of happiness must include both public and personal happiness. As we mature, hopefully we learn that we may need to postpone immediate gratification impulses for the greater good of ourselves and society. We all would probably agree that some amount of self-control, usually found with experience, is necessary for true happiness.
But where is society’s self-control today?
That, I feel, is one of the pressing matters to reflect on this weekend as we celebrate our Independence.
We are a young country, when compared to several thousand-year-old countries like Ethiopia or China; and as we move into the puberty of our development as a Nation, hopefully we will develop the wisdom to make good choices in our pursuit of happiness. It is naïve on my part, I’m sure, to hope for a one-party government someday that truly represents the common person and has the best interest of America at the core of its decision-making process.
But until that time, let’s celebrate this weekend with our families close-at-hand. Let’s celebrate our independence and the freedoms we enjoy in this great country of ours! And let’s begin our journeys in self-actualization to discover who we really are.
As I always say… happiness begins at home.
Cheers to independence and the pursuit of happiness,
- Dr. Pfister