Butler (Re: cop shows, postmodernism and all that

[Carl Remick]

Re Carrol's :  "With all due respect to the agitational possibilities of
the Declaration
of Independence (Ho made excellent use of it), I think Catherine
is kinder to it than she need be. The key point in understanding
the Declaration is the recognition that 'happiness' was a euphemism
for 'property,' and the inalienable rights that were up front in the
minds of the drafters were the inalienable rights of the property
owner to his life, his liberty, and the untrammeled use of his property
for his own happiness (i.e., for the exploitation of labor)."

Carrol, this is a needlessly restrictive interpretation of what the DOI
states.  My point all along has been that we can and should interpret
"all people are created equal" and "the pursuit of happiness" in
contemporary progressive terms.  Why be limited by euphemistic readings
of two centuries ago?

Carl Remick