Do we have the right to happiness? This is a simple question with an infinite amount of angles, because one could easily answer both yes and no and have a great justification for such an answer. I think that we don't have the right to happiness itself, but, as the Bill of Rights states, I believe that we have the right to pursue it. Happiness isn't something that is given to us on a silver platter, we have to do things that we enjoy in order to achieve happiness.
I wouldn't say that we have to earn happiness. In some cases people think that earning lots of money can bring happiness, but this isn't always true. How often do you hear about how celebrities have it easy and love their life? Most of what you hear is them resorting to drugs and drinking for happiness, thus proving that money doesn't bring automatic happiness.
When I say that we have the right to pursue happiness, I mean just that. And again I will state that happiness isn't something that is just given to us, we have to find it. I'll take myself for example, I play baseball here at Calvin College. Baseball makes me happy, after playing ice hockey for ten years of my life I realized that hockey didn't really make me happy like baseball does. I wasn't born a great baseball player, I had to practice and better myself. Every person has their niche in the world, sometimes its obvious, other times we really have to dig to find it. This is where happiness develops, by the pursuit of finding what makes us the most happy in life.
To summarize, happiness isn't given to us like "here is some happiness". It is something that we have to search for and, here is the keyword again, pursue. We don't have the right happiness, rather, the right to pursue it.
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I like your distinction between pursuing happiness and happiness itself, but I don't think happiness is something to be found. For instance, you love to play baseball, but the happiness you get from it came through a lot of work. However, who gave you the desire, dedication, and physical ability to play? I think these are God-given gifts that, used together, allow you to receive the happiness that comes from playing. It wasn't something you found, but something revealed to you. What I'm saying is that it wasn't you who found baseball, but baseball found you. A bit vague and maybe splitting hairs, but I just feel that the "pursuit" of happiness might be more correctly termed the "revelation" of happiness.
ReplyDeleteI think that's interesting, the way you distinguish the difference between earning happiness and being happy. Because happiness given is nothing wrong it's when we take it that it is wrong. I like that good thought.
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more especially on both your main point that it is not our right to have happiness but that it is our right to chase after it. I especially liked you examples of what happiness is and isn’t in relation to yourself and celebrities. On a more personal note I must say I think that the way in which you summed up your argument was excellent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we have a right to pursue happiness, but not a right to happiness itself. I would argue that our right to pursue happiness also has limitations. Just like legally we are not allowed to break the law when we pursue happiness, we have no right to pursue happiness in a way that is morally unacceptable.
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