New Common Sense: Misunderstanding What It Means

July 2, 2013    |   Discover more at Heritage's First Principles webpage What We Celebrate John Adams got the date wrong but everything else right. He wrote that July 2, the day on which the colonies first declared their independence, “ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” In the event, we celebrate not the day on which we declared our independence, but the day on which we justified our independence to “a candid World”. Matthew Spalding has more on the importance of the Declaration of Independence. Misunderstanding What It Means Liberals love to invoke the Declaration of Independence to justify their agenda. Gay marriage is about equality and healthcare is a right, they claim. Some conservatives worry that they may actually be right. They wonder out loud whether all the Declaration’s talk of equality and liberty doesn't set the stage for the egalitarianism and licentiousness of modern liberalism. They are wary of rights and wonder why the Declaration doesn't talk more of duty, community, and family. David Azerrad explains why those concerns miss the mark. But It's Not A Catch-All While the Declaration does proclaim our rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” it doesn’t defends a person’s right to anything that might make that person happy. In his statement applauding the Supreme Court ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, Obama alluded to the Declaration: “We are a people who declared that we are all created equal–and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.” You have the right to be gay, but (regardless of what the Supreme Court says) you do not have a right to gay marriage. Quote of the Week "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence." - Abraham Lincoln, February 22, 1861 For more quotes, visit westillholdthesetruths.org     About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute — a think tank — whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400 | heritage.org