"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." -- from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
"It is an eminently good thing that the anti-suicide measure would require medical specialists to keep track of veterans found to be high risks for suicide. But that's to care for them as human beings, under that other constitutional right — to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." -- from a New York Times editorial.
A lot of bloggers have commented on this example of the Times' constitutional ignorance, but nobody I've read has made the obvious point that the Constitution is aimed at those values, even if the language doesn't directly say so. The whole point of the document is to protect us from interference, including from the government, so that we may craft our own lives. Of course, our right to pursue happiness has long since been replaced, in the minds of people like the Times editorial board, with the right to have happiness.
