We need a little Christmas, right this very minute,
candles in the window, carols at the spinet.
candles in the window, carols at the spinet.
— Jerry Herman
Happiness among Americans has reached a 50-year low, according to a new survey by the University of Chicago.
We're abjectly unhappy now—and worried our children and our children's children will never be happy, as well.
But do Americans deserve happiness? I'm not sure many do.
Its pursuit might be, as Jefferson believed, an "unalienable right;" but what have Americans done lately to earn happiness? Stockpiled more guns? Denied hungry families food stamps? Locked migrant children in cages?
Simple enough.
But there's a problem: what do you wish for? A pink Cadillac? The Hope Diamond? A seat on the stock exchange? A guest spot on The Bachelor? A house at the beach? A mansion in St. Louis?
"While every human being wants to attain happiness," Kant said, "he can never say decisively and in a way that is harmonious with himself what he really wishes for."
Kant's advice: don't chase after happiness; instead, pursue virtue.
Acting morally is like pausing to buff a diamond you can never own.
"A good will is not good because of what it effects or accomplishes, it is good in itself," Kant said. "Even if by utmost effort the good will accomplishes nothing, it would still shine like a jewel for its own sake as something that has full value in itself."
Done anything virtuous lately?
Done anything virtuous lately?