NationStates Jolt Archive

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.

This is often considered the central ideal of the US's Declaration of Independence, and of the USA. In you your own words, without flaming or otherwise slaming other answers, what does this sentence mean to you?

It means anyone in America should be free to achieve happyness anyway they can.

It means that we should all be thankful for our founding father's aversion to reality.

Watch out for the small print

It means that you hold the truths so they won't go around causing mischief.

It means to me that the people who wrote it didn't think much of non-men, despite the nice talk of "self-evident truths."

Offhand I'd say it means Thomas Jefferson was a crazy anarchist in his young years. He probably went to those crazy punk-rock shows and had a small mohawk under that wig. :p

Honestly, I basically think that the meaning of the sentence is pretty self-evident( :P ): That everyone has the right to live, freedom, and to pursue their own happiness. It really is a basically anarchic thesis.

Problem is it is self-evident that men are not created equal. Some are cleverer, stronger, faster more cunning then others. Its a small point but there we go, i'm not a poet.

it is self explanitory in and of itself... Of course people are Created with different strengths but all-in-all they are created equal in the end... They deserve the same rights and luxuries ... Everyone should be equal.. same wages same rights and same respect despite Color, race, or religion. I don't care who you are or where you come from you are just as good as i am. there is a saying From a musical (Avenue Q) Everyone's a little bit racist.. and i don't think it is true.. in my eyes as well as the eyes of the declaration of independance, constitution, and Martin Luther King Junior... Any person is a human just as much as i am.

That rights are intrinsic and that the most fundamental rights can never be justly abridged.

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. what does this sentence mean to you?

A naive goal that will never be accomplished as long as men (the exact men mentioned in the quote) exist. Man will kill man until the end of time, each time finding new and different ways and justifications. These universal rights of life, liberty, and happiness, aren't universal at all.

This is often considered the central ideal of the US's Declaration of Independence, and of the USA. In you your own words, without flaming or otherwise slaming other answers, what does this sentence mean to you?

I think that this statement is a product of its times. When they claim that 'all men are created equal', they're not trying to insinuate that everyone is homogenous, but rather that all men should be treated equally under the law regardless of their 'status' in society - no divine right of kings. Everyone has the right to pursue a happy life to the best of their ability, and this is a truth that should be self-evident.

It's plain as day that man is not meant to be constrained by laws when he is doing what is right......

I probably missed the mark, but ohwell.

This is often considered the central ideal of the US's Declaration of Independence, and of the USA. In you your own words, without flaming or otherwise slaming other answers, what does this sentence mean to you?
Sounds to me like it's saying "All men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That rights are intrinsic and that the most fundamental rights can never be justly abridged.

what he said!

"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. "

A self-evident truth is one that is never up for debate.
It does not need to be explained further, and is never negotiated upon.

It means that is this country, we believe certain rights are never to be taken away...Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Sadly, we break these rules everyday.
We execute, we imprison, and we supress people all the time.

I think many of the founding fathers would be incensed at the style of government we have today, where national government disregards state laws on a daily basis, and continues to flaunt its power.

I think that this statement is a product of its times. When they claim that 'all men are created equal', they're not trying to insinuate that everyone is homogenous, but rather that all men should be treated equally under the law regardless of their 'status' in society - no divine right of kings. Everyone has the right to pursue a happy life to the best of their ability, and this is a truth that should be self-evident.
I agree, at least that's what I always got from it. ;)

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.

With today's translation to include all humans (not just white, male land owners), it means exactly what it says.

All are entitled to life, and the comfort of knowing that that life cannot be infringed upon, liberty: freedom to do, say, think, and act as you see fit, and pursuit of happiness: the ability to live your life to the fullest by whatever means possible, without others restricting you.

This means that so long as you are not infringing upon another person's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then go for it.

That being said, I think at least half of the politicians in Washington deserve to be bitch-slapped (read: impeached) for violating this tenant.

This is often considered the central ideal of the US's Declaration of Independence, and of the USA. In you your own words, without flaming or otherwise slaming other answers, what does this sentence mean to you?

I think the original draft went like this: "We hold these truths to be a plain as the nose on your face..." but in deference to Washington who had a snoz the size of Virginia, they reworded it.

One thing that is not derived from that wonderful sentence is a free ride at the taxpayer's expense.

It's a complex piece.

"All men are created equal": Well, no. There are many, many inequalities in the world due to place of birth, situation of birth, race, gender, and the like. You're MUCH more likely to have a better time in life should you be born a rich, white American, male; and this doesn't even touch the differences in talents between people and disabilities between people.

But should all men be equal before the law? Yes, they should. Should all men have an equal chance at succeeding, I think so, but there are many who do not. Should all men be treated equal? Yes they should, and I think that's what lies at the heart of that particular line, that position of birth does not automatically grant status above another human being.

"Certain unalienable Rights": Ah, another tough one. Unalienable means that such rights cannot be removed, but they are removed all the time. When the Declaration of Independence was written, it was due to these rights being taken away by Great Brittan. Today these rights are often taken away for a wide range of reasons. Perhaps it would be better to say that these rights should NOT be taken away, and that these are the rights worth fighting for above all else.

"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness": What right to life does a condemned man have? What liberty does someone trapped between the preverbal rock and a hard place has? If it would make me happy to kill someone, can I pursue it?

I would say you have the right to be alive and to fight for that life and to give up that life should you choose. You have the right to choose your freedoms; your actions will dictate your liberty and freedom of action. And you have the right to try and find happiness if you can and as long as you do not hurt anyone in that pursuit.

That sounds about right.