US Government (Wednesday, January 18, 4th period)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

Josh stopped his totally grown-up coloring project when his US government class came into the room. Putting the maps of Montana away, he stood up and reached for his notes.

"I could tell from the glazed looks on your faces--and in the case of Clarence, a certain degree of drooling--that you might not have picked up just how important the work of Enlightenment philosophers was to the thinking of the men who eventually founded the modern democracy of the United States."

"Let's back it up a bit. The 1500s and the first half of the 1600s in Europe were pretty much non-stop religious wars. After the political situation stabilized, there was a growing thought that maybe listening to only the churches--which were still very busy damning the other side to hell for their beliefs--to discover and understand, you know, all human knowledge was a bit of a bad idea. The Enlightenment began as a belief in a rational, orderly and comprehensible universe. And then the philosophers began wondering if the universe could be comprehensible, why couldn't governments make sense, too?"

He continued talking about the Enlightenment for another half-hour.

Finally he looked up from his notes. "Everyone still awake? Or mostly? Great. In John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, he claims that by the 'law of nature', every individual has the right to punish those who cause wrongful injury to their life, liberty or property." He looked up. "This might sound terribly familiar for any of you who have ever heard the line in the Declaration of Independence that claims, among other self-evident truths, our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

He put his hands on his desk and looked around the room. "My question to you is, why do you think that Jefferson changed 'property' to 'pursuit of happiness' in the Declaration?"

He looked around. "Your homework for today is to find a copy of the Declaration of Independence and read it. Understanding it would be a bonus, but reading it is required. See you all on Friday, where we will be talking about the Declaration in excruciating detail."

Comments

Sign in (January 18, Government)

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

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[leeadama.livejournal.com]

Lee Gideon Adama.

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[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Dear Professor Lyman,

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?

-Clarence

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[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Martin Blank

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[chasingangela]

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[whitedeathpod.livejournal.com]

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[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

Charlie Kawalsky.

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[peter--parker.livejournal.com]

Peter Parker

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[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth Weir

Discussion question...

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

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Re: Discussion question...

[leeadama.livejournal.com]

"I have no idea why Jefferson would make that change, except to be more poetic," Lee says snidely. "Define 'happiness' anyway and how can you legally sue someone for hindering your pursuit of it?"

Re: Discussion question...

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

"Slaves," Marty said in a bored voice.

Re: Discussion question...

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"Ownership of land was a bigger issue farther back in history, wasn't it?" Alphonse asked. "It was a sign of how wealthy you were. The rich had large plots of land, while the poor had much smaller homes. Perhaps by the time Jefferson wrote the document, property was not so much of an issue. Instead, they were far more concerned about self-worth and the better for the people."

Re: Discussion question...

[chasingangela]

Angela scrunches up her forehead in thought. "I think it's to make the Declaration sound more poetic, like Lee said. The right to property is a real thing. The right to pursue happiness is nice, but it doesn't really mean anything. Same thing with the right to liberty."

Re: Discussion question...

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Wouldn't property relate more to the past? I mean, for how many centuries were people considered property? And I'm not talking about slavery, but just about life in the Middle Ages in general. The average person usually was born, lived and then died on some feudal estate. They essentially belonged to the lord of the manor. When Jeffereson was writing the Declaration maybe he was trying to say is that here and now, everyone had the opportunity to do whatever they wanted."

Re: Discussion question...

[whitedeathpod.livejournal.com]

"Pursuit of happiness sounds more...attainable, I think. A lot of people, in the past, present and future won't be able to afford, gain, inherit property for whatever reason. By changing it to pursuit of happiness, it'll make the average layman think, that by owning a computer, driving a Civic, and enjoying their job that their rights are being fulfilled. Maybe?"

Re: Discussion question...

[peter--parker.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's kind of tough to follow up Ma-- Clarence's explanation, so if I can, I'll pull a Jefferson and go with what he said, but with a little extra flair. In addition to slavery, I think it was also to make it a bit more generalized for the sake of the new country. I mean, here they were, a new country, the future - and, um, a war - ahead of them. 'Property' is limiting as the third right because it's just too concrete. It can apply to so much more with 'the pursuit of happiness.' It can mean knowledge, family, gardening... Whatever it is that makes you look out the window and say, 'Hey, I'm glad to be here.'"

Peter finally took a good breathe after that ramble. "Which is, I suppose, the long-winded way of saying 'poetry.'"

Re: Discussion question...

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

"I'm not much of a writer, but I figure if I was going to write something that would be the foundation of what I wanted to be a great nation, I'd put it in a way that would get people really behind it and want to support it. To do that, I'd have to give people a reason to get behind it. I'd have to get in there and give them something to work for that was possible. Property wasn't always possible for a lot of people who came over to settle here. By changing it to 'pursuit of happiness', it meant that the nation would be based on the best interests and happiness of its citizens whether they had property or not. Jefferson put a promise in there that was vague enough that it could mean a lot of different things to different people, and in a nation where there was the freedom to be different, that was important."

After class...

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

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OOC

[professor-lyman.livejournal.com]

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Re: OOC

[lovelylana.livejournal.com]

*So* almost posted here again!

*facepalms*