That is Walter Isaacson, pictured above, signing copies of his most recent book, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written.
When I unwrapped a copy of that book, which I received as a Christmas gift, and when I then read the title, having never heard of it before, I knew immediately what sentence Isaacson meant - what sentence he was talking about. Can you guess, too?
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 sentence that Isaacson has identified as "the greatest sentence ever written," is presented above. It is the second introductory sentence to our Declaration of Independence.
Both the origins and implications of that sentence - what it meant to those who fought a Revolutionary War, based on the claims made in that sentence, and what that sentence means for us, today, are not, I think, themselves "self-evident." Fully to understand that sentence and the demands it makes upon us requires us to ponder its implications, and to examine the origins of almost every word employed in it, so we can come to realize the meaning of that sentence to us, today, the meaning of our revolution, and what it is necessary that we do to achieve its unfulfilled objectives. This is what Isaacson wants his book to do.
I invite anyone reading this blog posting to track down a copy of Isaacson's book, and to read it. It is only sixty-seven pages long. Most of all, I am hopeful that this brand-new book will reinvigorate our commitment to the American Revolution, because the revolution that this sentence announced is a revolution still far from finished - even after 250 years. That sentence assigns us to a task which is a life's work for all who understand what the sentence requires. We are, all of those who are citizens of the United States of America, and those who are here intending to become citizens, the inheritors of both benefits and obligations.
Some question the benefits - understandably so. Many forget the obligations - unfortunately.
Read the book, and it will help you avoid either one of those two mistakes.
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