Some of you may have read, and a few of you boys and girls may actually remember, Spot's posts about his pique at Thomas Jefferson for allowing the "endowed by their Creator" language to sneak into the Declaration of Independence.
Stephan Pastis, the creator of the cartoon strip Pearls Before Swine, reminded Spot of another annoying part of the language in the Declaration of Independence. His strip on Sunday last:
What do you think Pastis was driving at, boys and girls?
That pursuing happiness is usually a fruitless endeavor?
Very good, grasshopper. Here, the calculating, cynical, and grasping Rat chases happiness, but the good-hearted though somewhat dull Pig is the one who winds up with it. "Pursuing happiness," one of those unalienable rights we got from the Creator, is part of the American ethos; it is a thoroughly Western and utopian idea. And it sets lots of people - dare we call them folks? - up for disappointment.
Remember, boys and girls, lots of things can be pursued, but you can only be happy.
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