Week One SOC 490

“The Declaration of Independence doesn’t guarantee happiness, only the right to pursue it. You have the right to catch up with it yourself.” – Benjamin Franklin

In the first few lines of the Declaration of Independence it is written that “all men are created equal,” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” While the ambiguity of this statement has given great freedom to Americans because it solidifies the rights that have been granted to us simply due to being human, it has also opened up further questioning as to what exactly fits into these categories: life, liberty, and happiness. I feel that the first two categories can be interpreted very literally. As American citizens and more importantly, as humans, we have every right to live and live freely in a society without restriction on our views, behaviors, and beliefs. The third point however, is not as clean cut. Happiness. How can one define happiness if it is something different to every single person? And along the same lines, how can it be guaranteed to each and every human if it cannot be clearly defined? Here lies the ambiguity. It is important to realize that the “happiness” itself, in whatever shape of form it may take for any individual, is not guaranteed to every human, but rather it is the pursuit of that happiness that is guaranteed. We as humans are assured of the freedom to go after our happiness, to have access to it, not assured that it would be given to us.

I feel that it is crucial that healthcare should be looked at in the same way. It is a right to human beings, not in sense that medical care is given to us simply because of our human nature, but that we can be assured that we have been granted access to it and have the opportunity to "pursue" it. As Peikoff writes, “All legitimate rights have one thing in common: they are rights to action.” In terms of healthcare, it is a right for all humans to have access to healthcare, but do not forget, we also are granted the right to have access to happiness. These rights are both rights to action. That means access to heathcare cannot include discrimination against any group of humans. No human, regardless of race, age, ethnicity, or class, can be denied the right to take action to receive medical care.

It is also important to look at the natural rights given to us by our Creator and the responsibility we have as humans to care for our physical bodies because God created it. On this topic, Gadium et Spes says, “he is [humans are] obliged to regard his [their] body as good and honorable since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” Therefore, we have a responsibility as humans to take measures to protect our physical bodies. Thus again, granting humans the right to access healthcare, the right to take action in caring for our bodies, not ensuring that it is given to us for nothing in return.