The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr The true US Declaration of Independence from our Mother Country may be found in these words.
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That phrase comes, of course, from the Declaration of Independence. It is the third of the unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. The word "property" often shows up as the third item on such lists, and does so for example in both the Bill of Rights and the 14th amendment. But Jefferson wrote of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Much heavy water has been made of this in the last 2 and 1/3 centuries. I'm reminded of an episode of The Sopranos in which Tony is complaining to his psychologist about his terrible life. He says that he saw a documentary on The History Channel in which the anchor said that the US is the only nation in the world with a founding document that explicitly mentions happiness. "So where is my happiness," he cries. Dr. Melfi, "'Pursuit' is what it says." Tony: "Yeah, there's always a fucking loophole." Anyway, one common question is the origin of Jefferson's p...