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Rick Santorum's war on happiness
How exactly do liberals have fun? Surely, it must have something to do with human sacrifice, or mocking Jesus, or tipping over tombstones in Catholic cemeteries.
Rick Santorum, the Pennsylvania senator turned noun turned unannounced Presidential aspirant says that the "liberal" view of freedom is "not the kind of freedom our founders envisioned." Elaborating, he says "It is an entire culture that focus (sic) on immediate gratification and the pursuit of happiness and personal pleasure. And it is harming America."
The second sentence in the US Declaration of Indepence, reads "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." Shortly after signing the document, John Hancock and John Adams possibly snorted coke off Betsy Ross's butt, then headed to the nearest titty bar. Or possibly not.
I'm actually happy to hear old Man on Dog talking like this. The further to the right mainstream Republicans like Santorum move, the more moderate us Democrats look. With 25 percent of Americans believing baby Jesus rode a pet dinosaur, and another 25 percent thinking Al Sharpton makes sense, there is a huge demographic of Americans who are amenable to logic, and can be persuaded that happiness is not a bad thing.
Santorum is right on some respects. The culture does support the pursuit of happiness. It also supports relieving lower back pain, removing stubborn stains from laundry, and providing comprehensive health insurance at a fair price. Fortunately, our laissez faire economic system drives our pursuits, not Barbra Streisand. If Santorum had spent more than five minutes in the green room thinking about these issues, he would realize that the Happinistas wear Brooks Brothers suits, drive SUVs, and vote Republican.
Please, don't tell him.
2.8.05 22:06