It's Independence Day in the United States of America, which means it's a day for reading and remembering the beautiful, immortal words of Thomas Jefferson.
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.
The full text of the Declaration of Independence is here.
(Note that there is at present no list of exceptions regarding who exactly is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Let's try to keep it that way.)
"Let's try to keep it that way."
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
Happy Fourth, Franklin! And yes, let's try to keep it that way. ♥
ReplyDeleteAmen, amen, and amen!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell said.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear. (Too bad Jefferson didn't get his anti-slavery bit in. Or maybe that was the Constitution.)
ReplyDeleteUm, it does say, "all men," but I feel just as equal and entitled as anyone who can pee standing up.
ReplyDeleteI agree!
ReplyDeleteMetta
United Stash of America tickles me I love a good pun.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you.
ReplyDeleteIf only the current crop of Republicans had actually ready the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. . .
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th to you and yours.
(And Roxie, I'm sure you can pee standing up, but I understand it can be a bit messier.)
Well said. :-)
ReplyDeleteBack then, the word "men" included
ReplyDeleteall humankind including women (at
least in NJ it did).
And including the less-frequent
variations of DNA, such as
intersex individuals (recently
said to comprise as many as
10% of live births).
Yay for no exclusions!
The "all men" clause does make me feel a bit grumpy, since I lack the Y chromosome. Also, it is humbling to remember that people of color, regardless of their gender, were excluded. Fortunately, we've come a long way from those bad old days!
ReplyDeleteTLK
Hurrah!
ReplyDeleteWell put, Franklin!
ReplyDeleteExactly.
ReplyDeleteBut...just a question..if this about equality..and equal rights....why is it that in some States gay people can't get married...for me as a European this is confusing to me..and please don't think that I want offend anyone...I just don't understand..
ReplyDelete"all men" is what it says. How is than not specific? It says nothing about women, which is the only other choice in the matter. I don't hold with what is understood to be understood about the use of male gender because too often it really does make a difference. Men, for instance, dind't need a law to let them vote, or legislation to allow access to birth control. As much as I love the founding fathers - who were all men as far as I know - their words are gender specific, and that is the only update needed.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think that we (USA citizens) are missing the point of very important wording in the Declaration of Independence:
ReplyDelete"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Would it therefore follow that not allowing gay marriage is unconstitutional ? surely marriage can be classed as "the pursuit of happiness"
ReplyDelete@slipknitmeditate Currently there Are 9 states that allow gay marriage. There are 26 states that allow you to marry your first cousin, some under certain circumstances. That gives you a bit of an idea of the current conservative mood of the country.
ReplyDeleteRight now, the Republican party is very set against gay marriage. Part of that is the large and powerful Christian religious right, and part of it is just the Republicans. D : < The Democrats are not powerful enough to get it through without the Republicans AND speaking out in favor of gay marriage as a politician can be a political death sentence,
So, yes, we have equality for all. Except gay people. Because the Republicans are convinced that gay marriage will ring about the apocalypse, bestiality, and a return of the Dark Ages. Note: they said the same things about interracial marriage. We all see how that went.
Interesting conversation! Thanks, everyone.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a gripe with people 200 years ago saying "all men" when it was commonly understood to include women (even though there were practices then which excluded women from all kinds of things. That was then, this is now.) But I do have a BIG GRIPE with people today who seem to think that men are more deserving of power than women are. Look where that has gotten us over the past 200 years -- not all good.
Slip, Knit, Meditate asked about federal law vs. the power of the states to legislate. The constitution gives states the power to legislate matters that are not reserved to the federal government, with the result that state laws on many topics vary a lot from state to state. Sometimes it's charming, but a lot of time it's confusing and difficult. It probably won't be within my lifetime that the U.S. constitution is amended to allow same-sex couples to marry, but those of us who want to see it happen are chipping away at the state laws state-by-state, and having some pretty good success. I believe the tide is definitely turning in our favor.
Happy Fourth And Beyond, everyone!
I think the old UK legal term "the male shall embrace the female" (which means when it says "he" it means "s/he") is both entirely weird and entirely correct in this context...
ReplyDeleteGotta love a nation with this sort of stuff written down.
Um.... Could I please trouble you to consider putting this graphic on something on your cafepress site? Pretty pretty please? I'll send a cold front to Chicago? :)
ReplyDeleteI wish your blog had a LOVE button to click, many times as I read it (as with this latest entry) I have nothing insightful to add, but in my heart I recognize a Kindred Spirit. :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad I discovered your blog today after reading the latest Knitty. Here in Canada, our original constitution (the British North America Act, an Act of the British Parliament) invoked the goals of "peace, order, and good government", so much less exuberant than "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", don't you think?
ReplyDeleteDear Panopticon
ReplyDeleteI'm writing to fellow knitters to share a song and stopmotion video about knitting.
It's called "The Knitter's Curse" and you can watch it on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiUcx3ZHpUs&feature=plcp
If you enjoy it, do share it.
Yours in wool :o)
Hilary
The Savoy Ballroom
Well said, Franklin!
ReplyDelete(but where is Harry?)
ReplyDeleteI'm standing right beside you.
ReplyDeletePeople always say "men" means "women" too, and perhaps linguistically it did, but the signers of the Declaration probably did not mean to include women or people of color in this statement. How many of them were women or people of color? How many of them owned women or people of color?
ReplyDeleteHi Franklin, thought you'd be amused to discover that your blog is now classified as 'Criminal Activity' by our firewall and blocked from work.
ReplyDeleteI guess the server found the 'prison' post ;-)
Made me laugh this morning anyway!
Of course, what a great site and enlightening posts, I surely will bookmark your blog.Have an awsome day!Togel Bola Online
ReplyDeleteWhy you don't like it beats me. I'll take it over football any day.
ReplyDeleteWhen non-knitters ask me what my piece of fabric is, I say "Oh, I'm just experimenting" and they seem pleased with that.
ReplyDeleteAdipex
Thank-you for clearly and logically demonstrating my instintive response to similar questions :-)
ReplyDeleteUm, it does say, "all men," but I feel just as equal and entitled as anyone who can pee standing up. vaillant kombi servisi
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