More than a year after the American Revolutionary War, the second Continental Congress, on 2nd July 1776, unanimously approved for the creation of an independent United States of America; independent of the Great Britain. The congressional committee selected Thomas Jefferson (later to become the 2nd Vice President and the 3rd President of the United States) to author the Declaration of Independence, as an explanation of the reasons for the declaration by the Congress.
The Declaration of Independence of the 13 states of the United States of America was formally adopted by the Congress on 4th July 1776; the day on which America celebrates its independence.
Jefferson was an philosopher, a statesman, and a lawyer. He crafted the Declaration in an excellent manner:
The second section of the Declaration read:
“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”
Jefferson knew that a person can never be truly happy; greed usually steps in. He therefore wrote “pursuit of Happiness” instead of “Right to be Happy”.
Well, a side thought: If the nation on its independence declared that all men are created equal, then why did it take a century and a civil war for the abolition of slavery and granting equal status and the rights of like, liberty and pursuit of happiness?
Happiness is a choice, really it is! Like Abraham Lincoln said
“People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be”
The reason: humans are seldom satisfied with what they have, people want more! That ‘want’ is what makes people feel deprived and unhappy!
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi better known as Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India said:
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”
So be satisfied with and thankful for what you have, be happy and live happy, for life is short, live it now, live it to the fullest! 🙂
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