Rise Up

Just when I was beginning to get the hang of all this self-help, along comes this from Newsweek:
Is Happiness Overrated?
The question is posed by Julie Baird. It quotes a survey by economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of Wharton that says despite economic gains in the past three decades, people are no happier. Baird then goes on to discuss Barbara Ehrenreich's new book, Bright-Sided: How relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America.
What? Someone else in America shares my suspicion of the positive attitude industry? What? There have been economic gains during the past three decades? This is monumental news!
I'll deal with the second one first.
Apparently, the US economy has been gaining ground since I hit adulthood in the 1980s, despite a couple of recessions. Yet people aren't any happier. Hmmm.
Did they break this down by income group? Because I don't know, it's just a hunch, but I bet after 30 years of getting all the breaks and perks, that top one or two percent of earners is happier. It's the overwhelming majority of the rest of us who are bringing the happiness index down.
That "trickle down" economics President Ronald Reagan was so in love with was supposed to lift all the boats in the marina. Those with the wealth and power were supposed to use it to fire up new companies and industry, helping the rest of us in the United States.
Unfortunately, the main thing we learned from trickle-down is that the people at the top are fantastic dike builders. Hardly a leak has sprung.
Okay. Money doesn't necessarily mean happiness. In fact, that's one key belief being tested by this blog. But there's a difference between having money for things like that flat-screened TV and having money for the surprise MRI you kid had to have on her ankle. Or for college. Or for food. Not having money to meet your basic needs + working twice as hard as you did five years ago + never having time with your family + knowing you could be laid off at any minute despite your skill = well, I'll just go out on a limb here and say it. It equals unhappiness.
Add to that the idea that your unhappiness is your own fault. Snap that rubber wrist band, you complainer. You should feel guilty about being unhappy.And that leads, of course, to more unhappiness.
I haven't read the Ehrenreich book (the county library doesn't have any in stock yet). But I think I know where she might be going with that subtitle. As long as we keep blaming ourselves for our dissatisfaction, nothing will ever happen to change it. We'll never vote the bastards out, we'll never unionize, demonstrate, incite anarchy in the streets...but I digress.
I don't think any of us can stop searching for happiness. It's wired into our brains (and into the Declaration of Independence). But maybe it's time to quit focusing on the symptom and address the cause. Maybe it's time to quit pondering and start doing.