Americans are proud to claim certain inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's interesting to note that the Founding Fathers, in all their wisdom, didn't claim happiness as a right, only its pursuit. Since those three concepts were linked in 1776, public health has improved and our freedom to live life as we see fit has increased. The pursuit of happiness continues, largely because the object of our pursuit is so much more elusive than life or liberty.
We all want happiness, but finding it isn't the easiest venture. Many of us conceive of it as the end-product of material wealth, career goals and family harmony. With that in mind, we seek out the things we believe will deliver it: better cars, nicer houses and bigger paychecks. Others of us work to put together a large network of friends or find a spouse.