Who is Kilroy?

                I get asked that question a lot, but we’ll get to the answer later.  I was just about going to bed when I realized I hadn’t made my post, so this may be a bit lackluster, but I’ll do my best.  Look at that, I’m already a quarter of the way done!

                The United States is founded on the idea that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Well that’s all you need in life. 

                Life: The right to live.  You forfeit that right when you threaten another’s life, and in that case they have the right to take yours in defense of their own (hope I didn’t use too many pronouns).

                Liberty: The right to be free.  The government can’t tell you what to eat, can’t put soldiers in your house, and can’t force you to do anything COUGH COUGH OBAMACARE!!!

                Pursuit of Happiness: The right to pursue happiness.  Now, really that’s a rewording of property, but it’s the same idea.  You can work (key word there) to be happy, as long as you’re not infringing upon anyone else’s Life, Liberty, or Pursuit of Happiness.  Therefore you can’t kill someone to be happy, or make them a slave to be happy, or so on.  That does not mean you have the right to tell the government you want money to live.  That does not give you the right to take money from those who have it.  It is merely the right to PURSUE happiness; no one has to give it to you.  The only one limiting how far you can go is yourself.  If you want to be rich then you’ve got to work for it.  WORK FOR IT!  My own father grew up in the projects of Everett, Washington (if you don’t know what the projects are, it’s basically where the dirt-poor people live).  He worked hard in school, took out some massive student loans, and became a teacher and a coach, raised a family, is quite successful in theater, and is now dipping his toes in politics after running for mayor (and getting third, behind the two favorites and ahead of the rest of the crowd), and currently running for city council.  You can’t tell me that you’re too damn poor to pursue happiness.

                Long ago the United States, as a whole, fought for these rights and gained independence.  We sat on our happiness for a long time while Europe looked to us and saw something special.  Slowly, their governments and policies came to resemble ours.  Then, after World War II when we could no longer stand silent, we looked to the world and pursued Life, Liberty, and Happiness for everyone else.  We’ve sent aid to countries where people don’t know if the gang in the village over is going to let them live until tomorrow.  We’ve eliminated oppressive Soviet governments throughout Eastern Europe.  We help those who need help, because all people are born with certain unalienable rights, and “among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

                So who is Kilroy?  Kilroy’s more than a sketch that popped up in the early 1900s among American troops.  Kilroy is an ideal.  Kilroy is a representation of the arm of the United States, reaching out to those in need.  Kilroy is the Pursuit of Happiness for all people.