This extract, taken from the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776, made me think of many things when I heard it again during today’s Presidential Inauguration speech. Much has been made of the symbolism of the day, especially as it is also Martin Luther King, Jr Day in the US, and I even found out what the First Family and their guests had for lunch afterwards, but as usual my mind went off on a complete tangent!
The first thing these words made me wonder about (my having moved swiftly on to e pluribus unum) was what mottos other countries have? Here’s a link I found, which I thought was interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_mottos.
The second thing that came to mind was the UK’s Office of National Statistics ‘Happiness Index’, a sort of ’Gross National Happiness’ measure. This page has many links to related articles: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/happiness-indices.
Not to mention it being a tear jerker film
Yes, loved that, too. I find it interesting that in this phrase it is the ‘pursuit’ of happiness that is stated as our ‘right’. Happiness not guaranteed, just the right to aim for it.
And thank you for my first comment!