Thomas Jefferson is often partially quoted from his famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence. People often quote this phrase and mention only “All men are created equal”. First, the sentence begins with “We hold these truths to be self-evident”. Generation Y would probably abbreviate that to be only “Obviously”, but the Olde English version is much more powerful. Anyway, after “created equal” is the most important part to this phrase, “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the PURSUIT of Happiness”.

I bolded and capitalized the key word in that phrase that I feel separates liberals from conservatives. Conservatives believe that government can provide an environment to maximize your ability to PURSUE happiness. Liberals want the government to be responsible for PROVIDING your happiness. The difference is EFFORT. This is why it is difficult to change hearts and minds with Conservative ideals (although they ARE what is best for the country). Conservativism depends on people to strive and achieve. This is what has built our country to become this great nation. Liberalism sees a problem and has a government program to fix it. Welfare, National Health Care, etc. Basically, if you are not HAPPY, a Liberal can create a program to PROVIDE HAPPINESS, at the expense of the tax payers.

Here is the moral of the story. All men are NOT created equal, but we each have certain God-given talents and abilities. It is our right, no our RESPONSIBILITY and DUTY to figure out what those are and use them to pursue happiness in this great nation. If you depend on the government or others in general to provide you with happiness, your life will be miserable. If you work hard and are happy, you won’t need government programs, you will have created your own happiness.

Here is a hilarious comic by Darby Conley called Get Fuzzy. The cat and dog are often found arguing about politics. Enjoy!