[QUOTE=Liberal]
I agree with the gist of what you’re saying, but in the interest of the board’s mission, I feel compelled to point out that that is in the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.
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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
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Of course, you are right…and I missed the edit window! Ah well, as you say, the point is the same. Although perhaps the phrase “guarantees the right” is a misstatement in this case, as well.
There’s some correlation between happiness and wealth:
So the saying that money can’t buy happiness is not 100% true.
My suspicion is that money cannot buy happiness, but only after a certain point. I.e., a person in the US making 100k is likely to be significantly happier than a person making 20k, but a person making 500k is probably not much happier than the guy making 100k, and so on.
I think once your basic needs are met (enough food, clothing, shelter, medical care), happiness stops being closely tied to the pocketbook, and starts becoming dependent on more intangible things like family relationships, religion, worldview, etc.
I think a lot of American 'dopers THINK they’d be happier in Denmark…
(What happens in Denmark stays in Denmark)
Personally I think they are wrong. I like Denmark well enough (though I’ve only been there twice and only to a couple of the larger cities), but I doubt most American’s would be happy living there. Of course, I believe the same is true for much of Europe…the concept of living in Europe is appealing to a lot of American’s (especially it seems American 'dopers), but I think the reality would leave many of them less than enthused. The converse of course is true as well…I know a lot of Europeans who think they would like to live in the US but who I doubt would really enjoy it here.
Of course, a lot of Europeans DID come here…so, perhaps that answers the question. Maybe people who are free to decide for themselves how they want to live have made the choice for where they have the best chance to pursue that happiness stuff? So, if you live in Canada or Europe or the US you have a CHOICE, which allows you to pursue as much happiness as you can…while if you live in less fortunate places you don’t.
There was an article in Scientific American awhile back called “the Tyranny of Choice,” the premise being that people don’t always react to a greater range of choices with a higher level of satisfaction/contentment. Apparently, people spend a lot of time worrying about alternative choices, and then once a decision is made, we fret over opportunity cost (all those other choices we could’ve made, but didn’t).
So maybe the freer countries in the world are not necessarily happier places just by virture of their freedom. Maybe it’s more complicated than that.
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena]
The lack of racial diversity is a very interesting one, I think. MrDibble makes the point that the US is very large and unwieldy, which it is, and is a factor in a lot of the inequities that work against happiness for everyone. It’s also a very diverse country racially and ethnically, which is a source of richness and a source of tension. It may hamper “happiness” in some ways, due to this societal tension, but it’s also a defining characteristic of our American culture, and one that should be appreciated despite it’s downside. The fact that this diversity exists means that different people are going to need different things to make them happy, which is partly what I was alluding to in my earlier post. The Constitution guarantees the right to pursue happiness…it doesn’t guarantee the right to be happy. It’s not an expression of the idea that people ought to be ensured the best possible situation for them, but rather that they should be ensured the freedom to create that situation for themselves. In the US, it would be too easy for my happiness to conflict with someone else’s, because the population varies so widely. This would make it difficult to figure out what it is that “makes people happy,” and try to achieve that.
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Spoken like a true patriot. And they said all Chicagolanders were godless communists…
There was an article in Scientific American awhile back called “the Tyranny of Choice,” the premise being that people don’t always react to a greater range of choices with a higher level of satisfaction/contentment. Apparently, people spend a lot of time worrying about alternative choices, and then once a decision is made, we fret over opportunity cost (all those other choices we could’ve made, but didn’t).
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I can believe that. I’ve been agonizing over which of two similar lucrative job offers I should accept for like a week now (there’s even a thread on it). I think it made me more anxious and tense than actually losing my old job.
Americans always talk of Eurpope like it’s some Utopia with their standard of living being significantly higher than ours. I don’t know if I buy that. AFAIK, most Europeans live in flats, not the big American style houses full of gadgets and crap.
It all hinges on what ‘standard of living’ means to the individual. It varies between individuals as to what is important and what isn’t. Americans definitely look at what’s important and what isn’t in a different way than Europeans do (though both of those terms are broad brushes as Americans in various parts of the country look at things differently…and of course Europeans are very different depending on which country we are talking about).
[QUOTE=Shagnasty]
The linked study that puts Denmark as the #1 most happy attributes this to low expectations. In other words, they are thrilled when things go right and not dismayed when they don’t because they never expected them to. Citizens of countries like the U.S. are pushed to do better and better and don’t like to be 2nd to anyone else.
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Definitely. The bar of success is set high in America. While that’s great for overall prosperity, I have a feeling it’s not the best recipe for overall happiness. In order to climb the economic ladder, a person needs to foster some level of dissatisfaction with life. If everybody were perfectly content to live in a small apartment and drive a 10-year-old beater to work every day, there’d be precious few “successful” people in this country.
At the same time, if you could convince yourself to be totally satisfied with such a minimalist lifestyle (which, if you think about it, is still quite luxurious relative to other places in the world), I bet you’d live a more emotionally fulfilling life. I’m attempting to do this, and it’s not particularly easy. Somewhere along the line I’ve been programmed to want that six-figure income, house in the 'burbs, and an SUV, and no matter how hard I try to convince myself that it’s a superficial goal, I can’t quite shake it.
[QUOTE=essell]
Most of us live in regular three bedroom houses, unlike Americans who mostly live in high rise tower blocks and ghettos.
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:dubious: Cite? According to this, the average American house size has doubled in the past 50 years, to 2,349 square feet. I’ve lived in both countries, and from what I’ve seen, Americans on average live in much larger houses and apartments (for better or for worse) than most Brits. I think you’ve been watching way too many movies if you think most Americans live in tower blocks and ghettos.
[QUOTE=Rodgers01]
:dubious: Cite? According to this, the average American house size has doubled in the past 50 years, to 2,349 square feet. I’ve lived in both countries, and from what I’ve seen, Americans on average live in much larger houses and apartments (for better or for worse) than most Brits. I think you’ve been watching way too many movies if you think most Americans live in tower blocks and ghettos.
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Apologies, I should have used a smile to explain the tone of my post.
You’re right of course, I was just being a smart-arse in response to msmith537 saying most Europeans live in flats.
I wasn’t intended as an attack, but as a gentle revelation of the facts with a small dose of snark.
[QUOTE=Gozu]
Shouldn’t we, as a nation, find out which country has the most happy citizens, provided we think they are free and have access to a better health plan* on population average than americans,* and strive to be more like them?
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Should we, as individuals, find out which people are the happiest and strive to be more like them?
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink]
Should we, as individuals, find out which people are the happiest and strive to be more like them?
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My approach to life, as an individual, has always been to seek out people who seem happier than me and harass them until they’re quite irritated. Unfortunately the strategy is not very scaleable, but it’s always left me the happiest person in the room.
[QUOTE=Gozu]
Spoken like a true patriot. And they said all Chicagolanders were godless communists…
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Heavens, no, we have all kinds here. It’s a big city. But what’s your point?
Maybe people who are free to decide for themselves how they want to live have made the choice for where they have the best chance to pursue that happiness stuff? So, if you live in Canada or Europe or the US you have a CHOICE, which allows you to pursue as much happiness as you can…while if you live in less fortunate places you don’t.
