Let's see, commitment to the environment,concentration on education, health care reforms, equal treatment of the sexes, an economy bolstered by government action, no military, and a lush, beautiful, warm setting. Why wouldn't one be happy under those circumstances?
We are generally a less happy people for many reasons, and the above list is a good starting point. We are in a difficult period, one in which we treat many of our citizens and our environment with equal disdain. When so many are out of of work and hurting, when basic needs like health, education and welfare are treated not as rights but privileges, when the disparity between the haves and have-nots widens each day, when we seem unable to address the critical issues of the moment with any sense of reality and joint purpose, we are going to be unhappy.
War is not a good thing, and our unrelenting commitment to wage battle is confounding and deeply troubling. Yet, even in the context of a country chasing shadows around the world, if we just gave those around us the sense that each of them mattered, and that we were attending to their needs with a sense of urgency, we would be a much happier people. Maybe not as happy as the inhabitants of Costa Rica in the shangri-la described by Mr. Kristof (The Happiest People, New York Times, January 7, 2010), but at least we would be 'moving up the charts'.
2 comments:
Glad to see you back. Was getting a little worried you lost your edge.
ASK
I was in hibernation. I figured the end of the 'lost decade' was a good time to reflect and figure out where to head in the future.
I do think the posts will be forthcoming on a much less regular basis (but that is always subject to the twists and turns of everyday life).
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