This week we {in the United States} celebrate the 4th of July, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
But did you know that this famous phrase by Thomas Jefferson originally read “life, liberty, and the pursuit of public happiness”?
When editor Benjamin Franklin read that version, according to Professor Michael Hartoonian, former President of the National Council for the Social Studies, his reaction was something to the effect of, “Everyone knows the only kind of happiness is public happiness!” So they went with the more succinct “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Only to have many Americans, many generations later, think that the happiness enshrined in this document is primarily about our pursuit of private happiness.
In a June 2013 issue of TIME magazine, Jon Meacham addressed this very topic. He wrote that, for Jefferson, “happiness was not about yellow smiley faces, self-esteem, or even feelings.” It was instead about “virtue, good conduct, and generous citizenship.” Professor Hartoonian describes the Jeffersonian pursuit of happiness as “a concept that [embodies] the notion of joy and the action of service.”
The “pursuit of happiness” envisioned by our Founding Fathers is much bigger than our individual well-being. It is only when we enrich the common good that we can also enjoy private happiness.
American history is about finding this balance between the personal pursuit of prosperity, and the enhancement of our common wealth. Meacham reminds us Jefferson envisioned a happiness that would “shape not only our internal worlds, but the world around us.”
On this 4th of July, let us remember our important role as citizens, and cultivate and celebrate the pursuit of public happiness. Tweet
Our neighbor’s happiness is our happiness.
Our Common Well-Being
“Everything is connected to everything else. Our safety and well-being cannot be individual matters…. Taking care of other people’s safety is taking care of our own safety. To take care of their well-being is to take care of our own well-being.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home
{Original image credit: Colors of Freedom, John (Puzzler4879), via Flickr. Modified with permission.}
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