The Happiness Industry

Human beings are by nature not good; they are concerned with self preservation: Niccolo Machiavelli

Many generations ago life was short and brutal. People had no expectations of happiness. In the past people just hoped to survive another day. There were no antibodies to fight infectious diseases. There was no television, radio, or glossy magazines telling one how to be happy. There were no exotic vacations, nor adventure vacations. There were no therapists for one to spend thousands of dollars talking about how to be happy. There was no publishing industry publishing millions of books about how to be happy. There was no big government promising a utopian world were everyone would be happy.

The happiness syndrome has affected the American life and psychic. When young people were married many years ago they expected to spend a life together. There were cultural influences and religion that committed married people to stay together. They had a synergistic relationship for survival. The male as protector and the female to raise the young. It was also easy to commit to an unhappy marriage because there was a low expectation of happiness. The marriages were also easier to keep because people did not live long lives.

Today a young married couple finds it difficult to commit to a long marriage, 50 years or more, when there is so much temptation for happiness all around them outside the marriage. Each person in a marriage that is not happy cannot fathom the idea of living another 50 years in this unhappy situation. They perceive happiness is in their grasp if they only can get out of the marriage.

In previous generations only the aristocracy lived in comfort and leisure. They had time to contemplate happiness. The masses were involved in toil that was hard and endless. Today middle class people work short hours in air-conditioned offices and glance at glossy magazines with faked photographs of beautiful people having a wonderful time. Companies today are graded by Working Mother magazine on which ones are best at making working moms happy.

As people live longer lives and have more leisure, their illusions of happiness conflicts with reality. They blame their spouse, the opposite gender, their employer or some myth. They never understand that happiness comes from within, not without. Their frustration never stops them from expecting happiness to be delivered to them by others; their therapist, employer, family, etc. Some expect happiness from their God. The new temple where people worship and pray for happiness is the temple of The State. The Big Government God is where people can demand happiness, safety, health, and freedom. After all, this is what they are promised by the political candidates during the campaigns season.

Charles Tolleson