Rick Santorum yesterday joined many of the radical religious right’s brethren at the iPledge Sunday prayerfest and told followers that the Founding Fathers meant “pursuit of happiness” to mean “doing God’s will.”
“America is more than ‘stuff’,” Santorum told the audience whom watched online via streaming video. “Our founders said so, in that founding document.”
“And what were those rights? Life, liberty, freedom, to do what? To pursue happiness,” Santorum preached. Railing against “the popular culture” that teaches that happiness is “things that make you feel good,” like, “enjoyment,” Santorum equated “work” with “serving God’s will,” and added that when “our founders… said, ‘pursuit of happiness,’ go back and read the dictionary definition of ‘happiness’ at the time of our founders.”
“You will find that our founders understood that, as people at that time did, that true happiness comes from doing what you ought to do, doing what God has called you to do, and that is what they meant: To do the freedom God has given you to do what you ought to do to do God’s will.”
Santorum actually claimed that when the Declaration of Independence was written, the word “happiness” actually meant something else.
Well, Santorum is wrong. We did go back. The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Looking at the etymology of the word “happiness,” via the Online Etymology Dictionary:
1520s, ”good fortune,” from happy + -ness. Meaning ”pleasant and contented mental state” is from 1590s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
This is what happens when theocrats inject themselves into politics. They literally redefine everything. Just look at Right Wing Watch’s archives of David Barton.
iPledge Sunday was sponsored by two anti-gay hate groups, the American Family Association and the Family Research Council:
The event features Tony Perkins, Senator Rick Santorum, Bishop Harry Jackson, Kirk Cameron and other key Christian leaders for a 90-minute event celebrating Christian citizenship and exhorting Christians to rise up on Election Day to make our voices heard. Your church members will be informed, equipped, and challenged to advance faith, family and freedom in your local community.
iPledge Sunday will be the largest nationwide pre-election gathering of Christian voters. The goal is to mobilize Christians across our land to pledge to:
- Pray for the upcoming election.
- Prepare by registering themselves and others.
- Participate by voting on November 6.
Speakers will address the major issues we face as a nation – religious liberty, life, marriage, and the economy. Never in our history has there been a greater need for engaged, informed Christian citizens to stand up for faith, family and freedom. Action plans and resources from Family Research Council will make it easy for your church to become a simulcast host site.
Video via Right Wing Watch
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Oh jeez…the founding fathers were escaping religious oppression. Why the Heck would they try to foist religion off on people in this new country. This guy is the precise reason that organized religion is a bad thing. I'm all for God and Jesus and "do unto others" but the rest of it…just makes most people lose their ability to think intelligently.
I still vaguely recall from my academic years that the phrase "pursuit of Happiness" was derived from the tenants of the Scottish Enlightenment, and could scarcely be more antithetical to this spewing of santorum.
So you libs are becoming constructionsists ? Justice Kennedy in Planned Parenthood v Casey changed the meaning of the pursuit of happiness when he said, each American is entitled to define happiness for themselves. Santorum is merely following his peace, guys, chill out!
For a Christian, happiness is living a moral life which pleases God. Does this offend you, this controversial stance? Diversity is hard to accept sometimes, when its not PC!
No. Santorum is trying to warp the Founding Father's true vision of this country into supporting his ideology of a Christian theocracy. He isn't just speaking for himself, he's telling all those people that they aren't in the wrong if they believe that our country should be following the tenants of the Bible… which is the antithesis of what the Founding Fathers actually wanted.
Lol "To do the freedom God has given you to do what you ought to do to do God’s will." So in other words use the freedom you have to do only what God wants.
Anybody else think this is a weird definition of freedom?
EDIT: Also, wow what a terrible formation of words. Barely understandable.
There is something profoundly wrong about a 'leader' who stands up and declares that we should all be "doing what God has called you to do" – but who also stands so steadfastly opposed to gays and lesbians living and loving as God created them. It is Rick's conceit, and error, to believe that his own sexual orientation reflects God's will any more than anyone else's – when best evidence suggests that both straight and gay are normal variations that both come from the same place.
Mr. Santorum would also do well to take a close look at the 1st amendment, which grants us all an equal right to practice (or not practice) our own faiths without any government interference!
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