Pursuit of Happiness Thomas Jefferson once wrote that, “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.” (Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”) This Declaration was signed by the thirteen united states of America as an agreement. Over the 238 years since that important document was signed it seems as though those beginning words have been forgotten. Since the early 2000s, there has been a war raging between the borders of this nations. No, I do not mean the type of war of Iraq or Afghanistan, but one of as much importance to many. This war is for the rights of gay couples. Many have been protesting, marching, and picketing on legislation steps for the freedom to pursue happiness and marry who they so please. Being a nation with deep Christian values they have found a way to come against and ban these rights. As stated before though we have “unalienable Rights”. That means that no man on this Earth has the right to take them away. So who are we to stop a persons pursuit of happiness? As every other citizen has the right to marry who they please, so should the homosexuals. No bill or law should be passed to excluded certain actions based solely on the religious views of a group of people. In 2004, Massachusetts was the first state that granted same sex couples the right to marry. Since then 16 states have joined the bandwagon. That is a good start but a far cry from 50. Out of those total 17 states; 6 were granted by court decision, 8 by state legislature, and 3 by popular vote, according to procon.org. Not to the surprise of many, the 33 states that have banned same sex marriages include the entire Bibl... ... middle of paper ... ...only one. To this day the fight for equality in marriage is still going strong. Many both homosexual and heterosexual agree that the right to find happiness with whomever a person please is their right. As long as that pursuit is not placing anyone in harms way. Eventually, as time passes, the realization of this freedom will be recognize throughout this nation. The 33 will slowly decrease, and 17 will turn to 50. These groups fighting for equality has the determination to see it through. Just as the supporters for civil rights knew that with their perseverance they would succeed in receiving equality for all races. Works Cited http://gaymarriage.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004857 http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-104hr3396enr/pdf/BILLS-104hr3396enr.pdf http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/
Within America’s society today, 3.8 percent of the population is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. With only 17 of the 50 states legalizing and recognizing this type of relationship (“History…”), it puts a stronghold on same-sex couples to publicly declare their love with the promise of marriage. Same-sex marriages should be legalized because everyone has equal rights of freedom and liberty.
CNN.com states “a divided Supreme Court on Friday ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide, establishing a new civil right…” This law is showing that people that want same-sex marriage have the opportunity to have what makes them happy. It also is a right that everyone has, the right to happiness. (cnn.com) CNN.com states “Well I say God is the ultimate. You know you look at this? Trump said, motioning toward an oceanfront golf course that bears his name.” This quote shows that everyone has the ideal of rights, and are allowed to say what they want because of the right to freedom of speech and everyone is allowed to have whatever religion they want because of the right to freedom of religion.
Throughout American history, we have seen the United States become more progressive in their social issues, such as the abolishment of slavery, women’s suffrage, and the Civil Rights Movement. But as time has passed, we have encountered another group that is being discriminated against: homosexuals. Some states try their best to give equal rights to homosexuals so that they are respected as equally as everyone else. But in many states, such as Kansas and Arizona, private companies and businesses are given the right to turn down homosexual couples if it interferes with their religious beliefs. These two states also included places like hospitals where homosexuals can be denied from medical attention. These laws are very inhumane and are very hurtful to a large population of people today. But what if the people in states such as Kansas and Arizona think it is okay to have these laws instilled?
The gay rights movement has made great progress in the United States, compared to generations ago, with the legalization of marriage in some states, and also the gaining of certain equal rights. Many people today accept homosexuals within society, and society in general is more...
Famous children’s author Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind". Gay rights, at the moment, are one of the most publicized and well known controversial subjects of this decade. The sides clearly drawn one fighting for rights as simple as being married the other stating that it defames their religion and goes against the definition of marriage, being between a man and a woman. The individuals who are fighting for their civil rights are fallowing the same path that African Americans and women have taken, but the change has started and in over 13 states gays have been given their basic rights and more state are joining in the fight both for and against the topic.
Originally colonizing for religious reasons in the 17th century, the United States of America has evolved since then into a nation that separates government and personal beliefs. Although the U.S claims that their church and state is separated, the issue of gay marriage is still a relevant issue today. Thoughts on same-sex marriage are primarily based off of religious beliefs, yet the U.S. government still believes it should control whether gays should be married or not. The U.S. should make gay marriage legal, because it is unconstitutional not to do so.
Barclay, Scott and Shauna Fisher. "The States and the Differing Impetus for Diverging Paths on Same-Sex Marriage." Policy Studies Journal (2003): 3. eLibrary. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
As a United States citizen who was born in the new millennium, I was brought up with the idea that, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, “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 statement was one of the main sources of fuel for the Civil Rights Movements in the mid 1950’s/60’s in the United States. Minority groups have often been mistreated in the United States culminating in movements much like that of the women’s suffrage movement, civil rights movements and now a movement toward equality for the LGBTQIA. In the last few decades a new minority group, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and allies, and their struggle to attain their right to the pursuit of happiness. This small makes up roughly 4 percent of the US population. Though many say that gay marriage will weaken the moral foundation of our country, it should be legalized, not only because banning it is unconstitutional, but also because strips people of their human rights
They say if you love something, let it go. Yeah, I had a hard time believing those few words, for almost five years now.I met the first guy I fell in love with and whom I believed I was destined to spend my whole life with. I remember reading a quote or something like that by Plato, saying, “According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.” And I had sworn that I was sure he was my other half, that it was meant to be. Sucks though, when reality hits
Marriage equality rights have come a long way over the last several year, however there is still more progress to be made. Achieving gay marriage rights across the nation has been a long fight and has caused quite a great deal of controversy. While more and more people, churches, organizations, businesses, etc. are all starting to support the movement, thousands of them still do not. While achieving the goal of marriage rights in the LGBT community may seem never ending, it’s important to recognize the small wins along the way.
Aristotle and Plato both are both well known for their focus on defining the purpose of being human. To them, humans have a particular characteristic that no other living thing possesses. That characteristic is that humans strive to achieve a level of goodness. Although they agree with each other that there is a highest good one must achieve in order to live a fulfilling life, they have different ideas on what that good is.
Happiness is the goal of every human beings according to Aristotle, however what does happiness imply? It is in his attempt to define happiness and to find a way to attain it that Aristotle comes across the idea of virtue. It is thus necessary to explain the relationship between these two terms. I will start by defining the good and virtue and then clarify their close link with the argument of function, I will then go into more details in explaining the different ways in which they are closely related and finally I am going to give an account of the apparent contradiction in Book X which is a praise of the life of study.
You know when you’re watching a movie and you really connect with it, not just with the characters but you really just get the film? Ever wonder what it is that made you fall in love with a film even if the dialogue or cinematography isn’t everything you hoped for? It’s the sound design! Not to discredit any part of the film, The Pursuit of Happyness, because it is a beautiful film, but the sound design is what truly makes this film so great. It fills all the voids that are sometimes experienced in films. It does this by capitalizing on what the untrained ear calls noise. Another way the sound designers of this film really grab the attention of the audience is by creating a fluid way to make you listen to the sounds simultaneously with the images on the screen. In addition, the realistic sounds in conjunction with synthetic sounds complete the film by providing seamless cuts between scenes. The amalgamations of these three aspects are what make the sound design of The Pursuit of Happyness a truly vital part of the film.
What does it mean to be happy? Happiness is a sensation that people want to have, and a lot of it. Above all else in the world, it’s what we seek and long for. Though this feeling can be found in many different places and at many different times, it isn’t easy to acquire. For some people, happiness might be found in exercise and sustaining good health. On the other hand, others can discover it when they go on vacation and relax. The idea here is that we each have our own things that make us happy.
For our Economics subject, we watched The Pursuit of Happyness, a movie based on Chris Gardner, a salesman who was not making that much money and eventually experiences homelessness with his five-year old son. He faces problems when his wife is unwilling to accept his goal to become a stockbroker and leaves him. However, he perseveres even under all this stress.