My Brother:
Re: <<When I think of the "true meaning of America," I think of a system of government that was created by men who understood that in order for men to "pursue happiness," it was also necessary to free them from the tyranny of oppressive power, whether that power was the power of the strongest elements of society, the police power of the governemnt or, in some instances where religious or other deeply important rights were involved, even the power of the majority.>>
When you speak of these men who "understood" these things mentioned above, WHO specifically do you mean? And can you cite anything that any one of them wrote that supports you?
The words you highlighted, "pursue happiness", were actually "Pursuit of Happiness", not in the Constitution, but in the Declaration of Independence in this context:
......
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among
these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,....
Jefferson wrote the draft; Franklin inserted the phrase "self-evident."
Maybe this is unimportant to you, maybe too abstruse to many, but I am interested in what you actually know about how we Americans have come to have the "system of government" that we do?
Bruce |
