The Pursuit of Happiness

Where on earth did Thomas Jefferson get such a wacky idea?

This is a rhetorical question, however - because whatever its origin, it was definitely an American idea - and continues to be one. And could only have been imagined by a nation of immigrants, not very happy with their situation, and forced to improve on it.

It was very much to their credit, that they did this satisfactorily (if you overlook their inability to solve the Slavery question).

And continues to be an American idea - an obsession, actually - that has both good and bad repercussions.

Jefferson was a product of the Enlightenment - and not the Industrialization that followed it. And the Americans who followed him, have also had muddled thinking about the conflicts between the two.

He was the author of America's Declaration of Independence - but not part of its Constitutional Convention.

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Two hundred years after the Declaration of Independence, we can see the positive benefits of this Independence - in the American dominance of Computers and Software.

This is a huge advantage, but an advantage not understood (and in some cases, not wanted) by most Americans.

To see what I mean here look at Me on the Equifax Breach - where an American expert explains a recent security violation to Congress. He is extremely critical of a software industry - that puts profits before their responsibility to the public.

This kind of criticism could only happen in America - that also considers the good of the world at large. America is not benevolent out of the goodness of its heart - but because its own survival is at stake.