“In many ways, we're living in the founders’ nightmare,” says Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center. “All of the founders thought that we could not govern ourselves as a democracy unless we first achieved self-government as individuals.”

For Independence Day, Rosen shares how the "pursuit of happiness" mentioned in the Declaration of Independence is defined differently than our contemporary notion of the word. It includes a life in pursuit of self-mastery as what would ensure our individual and collective flourishing. Jeffrey also discusses the goods of stoic philosophy and touts the practice of deep reading as a potential antidote to civic issues the U.S. is facing currently.

Show Notes:

Resources mentioned this episode

The Pursuit of Happiness by Jeffrey Rosen

We The People Podcast

PDF of Lee’s Interview Notes

Transcription Link 

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