“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 second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson 250 years ago this month, is among the most famous in history, with author Walter Isaacson calling it “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written.” As we come back from our celebration of these fundamental rights last weekend at America’s 250th anniversary, it’s worth taking a look at the last of the three rights that the Declaration outlines. While life and liberty are largely self-explanatory, the “Pursuit of Happiness” is a bit vaguer. While most everybody knows the words, far fewer know that the famous line traces its origins to a 1689 treatise by English philosopher John Locke, in which he describes the fundamental rights as “life, liberty, and property (estate).” So, we can interpret the right to the “Pursuit of Happiness” to mean what today we might call economic freedom – the right to earn a living, own property, and pursue prosperity for oneself and one’s family.
Pursuing prosperity today looks a lot different than it did in 1776. In the colonial and Revolutionary era, it was possible to stake a claim on unowned land and singlehandedly carve out a living. While this came too often at the expense of existing Native American populations, it was a model of independent self-sufficiency that drove much of the early economic growth in our country. However, today the picture is changed; there is no more unclaimed land in the US, and our far more complex and interconnected modern economy necessitates greater cooperation to achieve prosperity. So, as we plan for the next 250 years, how can we ensure that future generations are still able to Pursue their Happiness in Sanford and Lee County?
There is every reason to believe that our residents still have the same opportunities for success as their forebearers; it just takes new, collaborative, community-wide investment. Programs like Real Investment in Sanford Entrepreneurs (RISE), a partnership between SAGA, the Central Carolina Community College Small Business Center, and Downtown Sanford, Inc. help new and prospective business owners succeed by teaching them the ins and outs of running a business. Marketing, accounting, legal filings, and tax implications are a much bigger part of success than they were 250 years ago, and by educating entrepreneurs in these areas, we help set them up for a bright future. What’s remarkable about RISE isn’t just that it’s helped more than twenty Sanford and Lee County businesses set up shop since its inception in 2020, creating dozens of jobs; it’s the different organizations, public and private, that came together to make it happen. To build success in today’s complex world, having an ecosystem of committed partners is a huge leg up.
There are countless other examples of how collaboration and partnership have resulted in greater prosperity for our community. SAGA itself came about as a union between our area’s Chamber of Commerce and economic development organization, and through that partnership, we’ve been able to attract significant new investments in our community, creating good job opportunities for thousands. We’re only able to do that because of buy-in from our local business leaders, elected officials, and nonprofit organizers who are each committed to laying the groundwork for success for those who come after.
So, as we look forward to the next 250 years for the United States of America, we thank everyone who for has, for the past two and a half centuries, laid the groundwork for the prosperity we enjoy today, and recommit to making sure the next generation has even more opportunities for the Pursuit of Happiness.