Andy Barr: “This Nation was founded on a simple, but majestic, idea; and that idea is that we are endowed by our Creator with…”

“This Nation was founded on a simple, but majestic, idea; and that idea is that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Think about these words from Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence for just a minute: the pursuit of happiness--the idea that every human being has a fundamental, natural right to follow his or her dreams, to reach for the stars, to work hard to achieve their God-given potential, all without undue interference from the government. What is the key to happiness? I believe it to be hard work--a relentless and unyielding desire on the part of the individual to apply effort and improve their lot in life. Hard work, after all, has been an American tradition from our very founding. Benjamin Franklin once said: It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man. And so this story is the story of America. The work ethic defines who we are as a nation. It is in our DNA; unconstrained by excessive government, the industry and creativity of the American people have fueled the most prosperous and productive nation in the history of the world. So what gives Americans--or anyone else for that matter--the character to pursue happiness? What animates our capacity to do work? In a word: energy. Quite literally, the classic, scientific definition of energy is the ability to do work.…”