...And the Pursuit of All Who Threaten It

The other day I was watching the Colbert Report online, and one of the ads running was for the Navy. I zoned it out as always, but I did catch one phrase: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of All Who Threaten It." This seemed like a really weird phrase to me. I was unable to find the advertisement, but upon googling the phrase I found this article, written in 2004 by military.com, a military and veteran membership organization.

The article states that the slogan first came about in 2002 and "was intended to convey a sense of the Navy's mission." A couple things about this slogan seemed strange to me. First, the idea that the Navy pursues any who "threaten" "life" or "liberty" is simply untrue. The Navy, for the most part, pursues those who are seen as threatening the U.S. Of course there are other functions of the Navy, and of course it is sometimes involved in situations where the main goal is humanitarian, not U.S.-specific, but, in general, the armed forces go after people who are perceived as a threat to the United States. But of course the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" from the Declaration of Independence is basis for this slogan, so perhaps that implies the association with America.

But the origin of this phrase in the Declaration of Independence seems rather odd to me. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" has become a motto that is seen as encapsulating much of American ideals. The slogan's modification of "happiness" to "All Who Threaten It" marks a strange turn in how the U.S. identifies itself. Although the slogan refers specifically to "the Navy's mission," it is being used in an advertising campaign that attempts to appeal to the general population through their sense of patriotism. What does it mean about the United States when attacking those who threaten us is a part of our national identity? This slogan is hardly the only example of this. Patriotism has increasingly become defined by support for troops, hatred for terrorists, and willingness to attack all possible threats.