La ricerca della felicità (The Pursuit of Happiness) è il diritto che ognuno di noi ha di impegnarsi per la soddisfazione dei propri desideri. E’ perseguire con tenacia un sogno, come quello che avevano i protagonisti del film “Io Capitano”, che abbiamo visto con le classi terze del nostro Istituto. Lì abbiamo capito che quel fine da perseguire (la felicità) è un diritto inalienabile dell’uomo. E abbiamo scoperto che la necessità di includere questo diritto all’interno di una costituzione di uno stato lo ritroviamo per la prima volta nella Dichiarazione di Indipendenza Americana (1776)
The American Declaration of Independence states that all human beings are endowed with unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the famous right to happiness.
While the right to life and liberty are present in many other constitutions, the right to happiness is not: it is in the American tradition. European Constitutions do not mention happiness.
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is a wellknown phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples unalienable rights which the declaration says have been given to all humans by their creator and which governments are meant to protect.
The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited by the Committee of Five, which consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. It was then further edited and adopted by the Committee of the Whole of the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The second paragraph of the first article in the Declaration of Independence contains phrase “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.
The happiness of which the American Declaration speaks, however, is closer to the idea of “getting busy” to produce happiness and not just wait for happiness to happen. Infact the Declaration of Independence does not speak of a right “to happiness”, but of a right “to the pursuit of happiness”.
In the USA you can realize the “American dream” as if you work hard you can achieve success even if you have nothing. The task of the State is to guarantee the conditions of freedom in which everyone can achieve their own happiness without violating the same right that others have.
Happiness comes from the Old English word “Hap”, which means luck or chance. Happiness has an important role in our lives, and it can have a huge impact on the way we live our lives. Studies have discovered that happy people cope better with life and relationships with others.
