Editorial: What do the Declaration’s words mean to us today?

In the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson, an imperfect man sitting on history’s main stage, wrote the foundational document of the America that he envisioned would lay ahead — if a new government could be established free of foreign control.

His Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, went through multiple drafts as Jefferson worked with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, who served as the document’s editors.

Where Jefferson’s early draft said, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable,” Franklin deftly crossed out “sacred and undeniable,” which he probably considered too flowery and a bit pompous, and substituted “self-evident.” Bingo — right to the point.

Even after 247 years, these words should speak loudly to us, as our divided country wrestles with itself — even violently, as we all saw Jan. 6, 2021 — and tries to answer basic questions that were first articulated by Jefferson.

Writing in a room on the second floor of a Philadelphia boarding house, he confronted questions like: What exactly is America? What does it strive to be? Who is the liberty addressed in this document meant for? All of us? Some of us? As a slave owner, Jefferson did not intend it for the people he enslaved. But he nonetheless articulated an ideal.

The edited version continues: “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.” 

There isn’t a country anywhere that, at its beginning, issued a statement of principle that speaks to all its citizens being equal, to individuals having unalienable rights — including the right to pursue their own happiness. There is an extraordinary amount of idealism in this founding document. Do we as Americans still believe in this?

Happiness as an individual right? Wow. What a way to begin what would turn into a six-year revolution, during which American victory seemed impossible, but ended with British troops going home.

Having celebrated yet another Fourth of July, we find ourselves in the early stages of what will surely be an ugly presidential campaign. It’s already a spectacle. A vibrant democracy hinges on many things, but two of great importance are these: that opposing parties talk to each other in a civil tone and that truth be foundational. Neither seems to be true today.

It’s been said America circa 2023 is in a post-truth period. Outright lies, conspiracy theories, ugly name-calling, stereotyping and backstabbing are political norms. Despite the words in the Declaration, some candidates for the highest office have thrown out “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for entire segments of our society they don’t approve of.

So in this week’s editorial space, we revisit what our Declaration of Independence says, and ponder what its idealistic words — “all men are created equal” — say about the country we live in now and want to live in moving forward.

Readers who want to share their own views on personal freedom and the meaning of the words in the Declaration of Independence, and how they relate to us today, should feel free to write us.