The opening of the United States Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, states as follows:
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
Who are we to argue with that one? (well….assuming when we say men we’re including women and children in the mix…but that’s another blog…)
And when it comes to the way we relate to other people and looking at the reasonable assertion of our rights – Jefferson’s statement roughly translates into the healthy psychological positions described in Transactional Analysis: