Yesterday we noted that the consent of the governed—the principle of democratic government—can be based on two very different foundations.  Which one we believe, matters.

The Declaration’s famous claim that our Creator has endowed us with a right to “the pursuit of happiness” also can be understood in two very different ways. 

Today, many Americans think of the right to pursue happiness as the right to do what we want; to pursue what is fun, what is pleasurable, what gives us enjoyment. 

But for the Founders, happiness didn’t mean pleasure, but rather virtue. Like Aristotle, they believed that happiness, or eudaimonia, was possible only when a person’s soul was in conformity with excellence or virtue—and they knew that freedom wasn’t possible without citizens who were virtuous.  So, the Declaration actually says that we have an unalienable right not to have fun, but to be excellent.

A government that exists to protect your unfettered freedom to feel good will look a lot different than one whose mission is to protect our lives and liberty so that we can endeavor to be good.

So go ahead, pursue happiness today—it is not just your right, it is also your duty.

And have a wonderful day.