Life, Liberty and Stuff 

Going back to history class in high school, I always found it interesting that in just 13 years, such a seemingly fundamental concept of our government changed. In 1776 we wrote in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

In 1789 we decided that this didn't quite put it right. We wrote in the 5^th Amendment to the Constitution:

...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...

Read that again. Property. Later in 1868 (80 years later) we said that states had the same restriction in the 14^th Amendment:

... nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...

Nowhere in the Constitution is the phrase "Pursuit of Happiness" ever used. Why the change? Didn't the framers think we deserved happiness? Did they want us all to be miserable slobs? Of course not. Although they never originally guaranteed us happiness either. They simply said we had the right to pursue it... never the right to succeed in our pursuit. Getting happiness, in their minds, was your responsibility, which means you might fail too.

And so we have property. It's a subtle change. Most people don't even realize it. Ask most people, and they will tell you that the Constitution guarantees the right to happiness, not property. Were the framers all a bunch of materialistic bastards, content to tromp all over whomever they wanted in the pursuit of money and fame? If you look at the history and the sacrifices they made, I don't think anyone can truthfully say that (though I'm sure some will try). Personally I believe that even back then, they realized the difference between property and entitlement.

Property is a tool that we use to gain happiness. Since we want you to have the right to pursue happiness, we need to give you the right to have stuff. The right to own a home, a business, or a car. Ok, maybe not a car back then, but at least a horse and buggy. We give you the right to have the tools to make a life, whatever life you want. It's your responsibility to get those tools, and do something with them. Government can't do that for you, or so they surmised.

The change from the pursuit of happiness, to the right to have property is the difference between government giving you what you need to be happy, and you making yourself happy by getting what you need. In some respects it's hardly a noteworthy change. In other respects it's such a fundamental shift in government, that it deserves to be shouted from the mountain tops. In just 13 years we matured from a people who were so sick and tired of government taking everything from us that we wanted government to give it all to us, to a people who realized that government can't give us everything we need so it shouldn't even try. Too bad we can't seem to remember that today.