Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

Having been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language" and "the most potent and consequential words in American history" -- the passage below has often been used to promote the rights of marginalized groups, representing a moral standard for which the United States should strive:


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.

In a certain, nostalgic way, and by Thomas Jefferson's own admission, the Declaration contained no original ideas; but was instead a statement of sentiments widely shared by supporters of the American Revolution. As the son of a former United States Navy Frogman, nephew and cousin to US Marines, and someone who calls the Volunteer state home - thank you for our Independence Day - have a great 4th of July.

(text credit: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc ; video credit 2002 Declaration of Independence, Inc)