One of the most interesting (and moving) things to me about those 18th century philosopher politician types is the continuous use of the word “happiness”. It has multiple levels of meaning … and doesn’t at all have the sort of shallow connotation that it has today (where “happiness” is some sort of psychological achievement that you can reach by doing daily meditation, forgiving your parents, watching Oprah every day, or following the Food Pyramid step by step). No. It’s not that kind of emotion they are talking about. Happiness isn’t easy, or inevitable. It had to be planned for, it had to be nurtured, it had to be fought for. Happiness was that important, happiness was that essential. It wasn’t a byproduct of the new government, it wasn’t an accident or a coincidence, or something to hope for … it was one of the primary and conscious GOALS of the new government. Happiness. Imagine that. It’s stunning to contemplate. Happiness is a worthwhile goal. Happiness is essential to the health of a nation. What exactly did they mean by it? Well, you can go back and read all the primary sources, all their letters, and pamphlets, and papers and figure it out. It’s all there. They talk about it – to themselves, to each other, to the public, all. The. Time. Happiness, happiness … How could the new government be constructed as to protect “happiness” … Tough and thorny questions, obviously. This concern with “the pursuit of happiness” was nothing less than a revolution in thought, a leap forward in man’s expectations for himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the most interesting (and moving) things to me about those 18th century philosopher politician types is the continuous use of the word “happiness”. It has multiple levels of meaning … and doesn’t at all have the sort of … Continue reading