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.
Whether it was by a history teacher or Will Smith in his movie "The Pursuit of Happiness" you have no doubt heard the above article from the Declaration of Independence quoted in some way or another. Amidst all of the political pandemonium that has taken place the last two weeks in the Republican and Democratic National Conventions it is important not to get sucked into the political platform and rhetoric of each party. In other words, it is imperative that we keep our wits about us. Although my blog is titled the "Catholic Christian", it is important to understand that while my faith forms the decisions and life choices I make, this does not mean that every belief I hold is because I am Catholic. It simply means that the Catholic Church affirms what I already know to be true. For example, you do not need to be Catholic to know and understand that "slavery is wrong". However, this is a basic belief of the Catholic Church and it affirms what we already know to be true as Americans or even as human beings.
The Founding Fathers when writing the Declaration of Independence wrote, as seen above, that we as human beings are "endowed with unalienable Rights". Unalienable by definition means "unable to be given away or taken". Which means that the Rights we have are Rights to us simply by the very fact that we are human. No matter what, there are certain things that are not given to us by any political power or person, but rather we are "endowed" with these rights once we are conceived. The writers go on to explain what some of these Rights are. First and foremost among the other rights listed are "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". It is without a doubt on purpose that the Founding Fathers wrote these rights in this order.
The pursuit and attainment of happiness is an end that results in the exercise of our liberty as human beings. Without liberty we stand as an oppressed people, at the mercy of someone who would only seek to use us as a means to some end. Like a slave who has no liberty, regardless of how he may be treated, is still hindered in his pursuit of happiness. For the slave is owned by another and is not free to live his life to its fullest potential. Without liberty we are stranded and restless in ourselves. Without liberty we are unable to express ourselves as we are, incommunicable and unique persons. And when an adversary seeks to take our liberties away our first and foremost response is not to pursue happiness but to pursue and attain our liberties first, so that we may again continue to live our lives in pursuit of happiness.
Among the three most prominent unalienable rights it is only fitting that life be at the forefront of the Declaration of Independence. Without life, liberty cannot be exercised and in this our pursuit of happiness is non-existent. As I stated earlier not every belief I hold I do so because I am Catholic but the Catholic Church affirms what is known to be true. Mainly that we are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What our Founding Fathers and the Church both have in common is that there is an agreement that the most basic and important right we have is the right to life. This means that abortion and the taking of an innocent life is not just a religious issue but at its core a human rights issue.
Slavery, suffrage, segregation and civil rights were all causes taken up because the laws in place infringed on a persons right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These were not some overzealous religious causes. They were causes that were affirmed by religious people. In the 1960's my father, a white Jewish-atheist, stood by and marched next to a black baptist preacher. At no point did anybody say "this is a black persons matter, stay out of it". Instead they marched and walked together because there was an understanding that the basic rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness were being infringed upon violently. So it is today with legalization of abortion.
There is however, a problem. The atrocities of slavery, segregation and the oppression of women all had one thing in common. Those who were oppressed were able to speak for themselves. Sadly when it comes to the right to life those whose Rights are being violated do not have a voice to speak for themselves. Does this mean that they are less valuable? No. It simply means that those with a conscience and a voice are obligated by nothing more than the moral code by which our nation stands, to speak up and be an advocate for those whose Rights are being infringed upon. While some may argue that this idea causes people to make decisions solely on one issue. I reply to this objection by simply stating that if a persons Right to Life is being violated, then every other Right that person holds is also being violated. Happiness is contingent upon liberty and liberty contingent on life. Abortion, like slavery strips away not just mans liberty but worse it destroys the very reason for which liberty exists; that is for the flourishing of society and mankind.
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