The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-06-18
THE RIGHT TO HAPPINESS.
Correspondence of the Progressive Farmer.

lulALh6 U0LLOA6OAa
the declaration that "Men are enuo"eu
bv their Creator with certain unallen-
able rights, among which are lie,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
.T~efferson's attitude in 1776, was more
than a hundred years in advance of
his time, if we measure progress by
the pace of the centuries which pre-
coded the American revolution. But
if we measure progress by the rate of
advancement which the hundred and
one score years since has witnessed, 1
think that relatively, he is five hun
dred years behind our time. Consider
the scientific, mechanical and artistic
accomplishments of the last century;
mentally enumerate the changes during
that period, eliminate them, and then
consider the crude conditions that
surrounded the author of ''The Decla-
ration" Thus, we a clearly Q
him in the attitude of his true great
ness. A figure uplifted, a genius, IN
spired with a glimpse OF an ldeal
humanity. which his intellectual ex-
cellency gave him power to see. He
stood in the morning dawn OF an
epoch. when a few rays of the great
truths which shine as the sun In our
time, foreshadowed the coming day.
Yet with clear perception he saw the
truthfulness of mans birthright to be
free.
Genius, culture and his love for hu-
manity lifted him into prominence and
gave to his mental vision a wide hor-
rizon. Regarding studiously the his
tory Of past governments, the growth
and decay Of imperfect civilizations,
he discovered the cause for their down
fall. He sounded the alarm of warm
ing against encroachments on the
equal rights of men. He directed at
tention to the disastrous consequences
of feudalism, tyranny, favoritism,
generations Of masters and mastered
men, and of all those sturdy evils
which proceed from the enslavement
of the minds of men unto the super
stition of 1.-THE divine right" Of special
classes to do wrong. He saw and
warned humanity against the dangers
of tolerating restrictive laws; against
the disasters that inevitably follow
granting special privileges to some
without exacting equivalent rewards
of granting special favors not common
to all, in violation of the unalienable
right of all to life and liberty. He
warned society against the national
calamity sure to follow any federation
OF the spoilation of the producing
EASES by the idle and non producing
classes.
In his time, society was literally
diseased with its heredity of old com
mon customs and beliefs, and greatest
of all barriers to progress, a spirit of
ignorant conservatism prevailed, a
deep rooted prejudice against, and
fear of, change. Yet there was also
dissatisfaction, unrest, resentment of
abuses and a universal soul longing to
be free. In that fact he found cause
for hope. Inspired by that ray of
hope, never wavering in his faith in
truth and justice and freedom, nor in
the ability of 'the people" to accomp-
lish everything, his ~utterances were
prophecies full of hope and comfort
~for wronged humanity.
Among the fundamental rights
which he saw and for which he con-
tended, was mans ~unalenable right to
happiness. Not the ~valueIess right to
an eternally hopeless pursuit" after
happiness, but mans right to engage
ment in happy v~ocations, happy pur-
suits, as one is said to be engaged in
an agricultural pursuit, ETC., etc.
What Jefferson saw, with perfect
clearness, was mans inRlienable right
to choose and follow happy vocations.
Vacations in which the natural ma
terials and forces at his command
would be the satisfying complement of
his desires and his individual ability
equal to the full measure of his power,
so that he might have the happiness
OF accomplishing the greatest possible
result with the least discomfort, by
the best use of himself.
Happy is the man who, freed from
the dominating influences of unsatis-
fed common needs, from the soul
poisoning greed which attends poverty
and the fear of poverty, can choose
and employ the natural opportunities
suitable to his taste and t. the best
use Of himself.