35 Words: Thomas Jefferson Hour Request

[pfletch]

The 35 Words Project http://www.jeffersonhour.org/

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson began the Declaration of Independence with the following 35 words:

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.

The Thomas Jefferson Hour is in the process of gathering as many versions of the “35 Words” in different languages as possible for a future program. Clay Jenkinson, humanities scholar and author, is asking for listeners who speak a foreign language and are willing participants in this project to make a recording and send it to us.

You can email it directly to The Thomas Jefferson Hour by going to the above URL, clicking on the embedded Javascript, and attaching it to your email. I hope you find this a fun project.

[ANTHOS]

J'ai appris par le biais du film du même nom que "Pursuit of Happiness" figurait comme droit dans la déclaration d'independence.

Je ne peux peux pas expliquer pourquoi mais je trouve ce droit un peu bizarre - si on le décrypte, ça ne veut rien dire en fait (et Life me semble d'ailleurs en conflit direct avec le fait que l'éxecution capitale existe dans certains états).

Désolé pour le hors sujet. C'est juste pour savoir un peu plus sur cette déclaration, qui me fascine.

[pfletch]

Yes, Anthos, the phrase "pursuit of happiness" is part of the Declaration of Independence. Several of the founders of the United States were firm believers in the principles of the Age of Enlightenment. Frequently high school students here must write an essay comparing and contrasting the U.S. Declaration of Independence with the French Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen. The best website about our Declaration is from the National Archives http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charte ... ation.html. Unfortunately it is only in English.

Yes, several of our states still execute some convicted felons. Many people are working to change this. Our European friends are ahead of us on this, and other "rights."

[ANTHOS]

I'm not sure why I replied in French (especially since I am also a native English speaker mysefl)

Thank you for your answer and the link, which I'll read closely