Title: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness!

By: Jay W. Badry

Word Count: 1224

In the summer of 1776, the world was changed forever with the first
reading of the words:

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.

These words, so eloquently written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration

of Independence, set in motion a series of events known as the American
Revolution, which forever altered the geo-political landscape. Oh, it took a
few decades for liberty to take hold and a hundred and fifty years for the United States to assert
itself onto the world stage, but those 35 simple words sowed the seeds of freedom that have
been bearing fruit for more than a hundred and thirty years.

The sad reality is that our nation, so proud and strong after assisting the Allied Forces in ridding
the world of the evil Axis in World War 2, has, over the last sixty years, drifted far from Mr.
Jefferson’s ideal and set in motion a very different series of events that are sure to once again
change the landscape of the world. Unfortunately, this time, the change is for worse rather than
better.

Read again those powerful words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” meaning, they are
beyond debate. Our culture no longer believes in absolute Truth, but has succumbed to the
seductive voice of moral relativism. No standards of morality; no plumb line for human decency,
we have slipped our moorings and are adrift on the wild and treacherous seas of moral decay.
Truth is seen through the lens of personal preference and independent ideology. We celebrate
what once was viewed as evil and decry what was good.

But read on. The undeniable truth is that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” The concept of a divine Creator has become the
punch-line at cocktail parties. For those in the halls of power, be they legislators or educators,
creation has been marginalized, fit for the unsophisticated or uneducated mind. Jefferson is
arguing that the divine design of the human race is the very cornerstone of our liberty; that God
has ordained these human rights. Imagine his masterful words relegated to insignificance by the
pseudo-intellectual.

One of my favorite stories took place at the first White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize
winners in the early 60s. President John F. Kennedy stood before the austere gathering of genius
and declared, “This is perhaps the greatest collection of minds ever to dine at the White House…
with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” Such was the respect for
this man who, without doubt, was one of the greatest intellects of his or any generation. Who
stands worthy to trivialize Jefferson’s argument?
The question no one poses in this post-modern era is: What are the long-term effects of
removing this cornerstone from the structure of liberty? Is it possible to undermine the
foundation of freedom and not see the structure crumble? If there is no Creator then there is no
standard for human decency; no equality of person or value of the individual. The rights of the
lowly are trampled by the power of the mighty and the greatness that was America is crushed
under the weight.

Jefferson concludes his statement by explaining these Rights bestowed on the human race by
the Creator: that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. I remember
standing in the midst of the Jefferson Memorial staring at these very words etched around the
rotunda. A close friend of mine stood next to me and said, “Jay, you know that when Jefferson
wrote those words, ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,’ he wrote them in descending
order.”

It had never occurred to me that these words were penned in a particular order beyond a poetic
flow. As I contemplated the implications of this “descending order,” I realized the true genius of
the man. Equal weight is not assigned to these three rights. The highest and greatest of all
rights is for life. Neither liberty nor the pursuit of happiness can ever infringe on the basic right
of life. By extension, the pursuit of happiness cannot exist at the expense of anyone’s liberty.
Thus, Jefferson establishes a hierarchy of human rights: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness…in that order.

The Abortion debate becomes simple once this logic is assigned. The freedom of a woman and
her right to her view of happiness cannot supersede the right of the unborn to life. Oh yes, I
know that central to this issue is the question of when life actually begins. I remember hearing a
spokes-person for the Pro-choice lobby on Good Morning America a number of years ago. He
got red-faced when his opponent used the term baby when referring to the unborn. “It’s not a
baby,” he cried. “It’s a fetus…it’s a fetus!” I sat dumbfounded at his words. You see, the term
fetus is Latin for…baby. So, I suppose the unborn should be referred to as Latin babies.

Seriously, I understand that science cannot say with a certainty when life begins. But I have
found that those so outspoken on the subject of a woman’s right to her own body no longer care
to solve this mystery. They are content to give unfettered access to abortion clinics up to and
including the time a baby can survive outside the womb. Long after the time when physical
viability is certain, the Choice advocates refuse to set any parameters on abortion. They have
inverted Mr. Jefferson’s hierarchy of human rights: a woman’s right to her happiness supersedes
her unborn child’s right to life and liberty.

Although science is incapable of answering the question of when life begins, the Bible has no
limitation. The Psalmist David wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in
my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the
secret place” (Ps. 139:13-16a, NIV). The inference is clear; life is a gift from God and not subject
to the choice of others.

It’s time for a new kind of Revolution; one that reaffirms our nation’s foundation. It’s time to
stand as one and proclaim our independence from those who would rob us of our birthright. God
has granted us life and we should live to honor Him. God has offered us liberty and it’s found,
not in the security of a nation, but truly through faith in Him. And God has given us this world as
a stewardship to enjoy. But we must live each day with the realization that this world is only a
temporary dwelling and we will someday stand before God accountable for how we have loved
Him and how we have served others. Jesus taught us that the key to a happy life is to “love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength and love your
neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, NIV). That’s Life worth living, Liberty worth having and
Happiness that will last for eternity.

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