Will someone rid us of these pesky freedoms

So I turned on CNN today, this July 4th.  I didn't see the entire segment in all fairness.  But apparently a scholar is saying we may need to rethink the Declaration of Independence - which is alternately important and irrelevant, depending on what we're talking about nowadays.  Anyway, he says we've misinterpreted the Declaration because after the famous preamble section "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", there should be a comma, not a period.  And of course, according to the CNN host, this means that the Founding Fathers meant that it is these things are provided by the government.

First, I've looked at several copies of the text, and I've seen a comma, a period, and a semi-colon.  Even CNN said, looking at the original, that it was likely a semi-colon.  Assuming that the nuances of punctuation mean the same for us as they did the Founding Fathers, that still means...what?  If the context of the rest of the document is ignored, it could mean that the it is the government that is the source of all happiness and liberty.

Or if we look at the whole document, we might see that the pause in thought could mean what we've always been taught: That we have these rights given us by our Creator, and that to secure these God-given rights, governments are instituted among men and derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Sure, governments must exist.  The Declaration says nothing else.  But why, how, and in what role is completely separate, and certainly not as CNN tried to suggest, that all these things are made possible by 'the government.'  Sure the government is a part of the puzzle, but unlike the modern Left, is is not the puzzle.

But don't take my word, go hear for the complete text.