Smile? The Results From the 2020 World Happiness Report Are In
The Finns, known for downplaying their emotions, are the happiest people in the world. Do they have something to teach us about how to respond to the pandemic?It might seem an odd time to release a report ranking which countries are happiest.
After all, who can really be happy during a global pandemic?
But according to the authors of the 2020 World Happiness Report, an annual survey of how satisfied people worldwide are with their lives, this is precisely the right moment to consider why Finland has once again made the top of the list.
The Finns, who so pride themselves on their stoicism that they have a word for their national grit (sisu), have been named the happiest people in the world for the third year in a row.
The distinction has confused the Finns themselves, but it turns out that happiness, at least as it’s defined in this report, is not a function of how well you express your emotions... (continues)
I have been struck this week by how I see daily stories in my news feeds that show that perhaps there is a bright side to this terrible plague-event. The shut-down of national economies will be devastating for too many people. I cannot imagine how all of the people in the service industry will deal with life on a daily basis in what is clearly a depression for them. Where is the bright side? One, it has exposed the weaknesses in the social structure of many western countries. Finland’s and the other Nordic countries continued reign as the happiest countries highlights the fact that we need to care for each other, and provide a more just economic society. From this article this quote: “But unlike the United States, where a loss of faith in institutions has dovetailed with the drop in happiness reported by Americans, people in Scandinavian countries believe in one another and their governments.” We have been on a downhill slide since Ronald Reagan declared, while the nation faced serious problems, that “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” This may be the moment when we wake up to the fact that that philosophy is bullshit. Two days ago in Politico there was an article where 34 “smart, macro thinkers” opined on how the virus might reshape our society. Pretty much all in positive ways. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/19/coronavirus-effect-economy-life-society-analysis-covid-135579 Consider impact of the economic crisis on environmental awareness. Greenhouse gases are way down, and people notice that without all this human activity, we can impact climate change. And this story: Venetians, devastated by death and economic destruction, are experiencing the joy of nature taking back their beautiful city, and realizing that they can have a better life without 20 million tourists getting off of cruise ships every year. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/20/nature-is-taking-back-venice-wildlife-returns-to-tourist-free-city This is the time for stoicism; ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE.
ReplyDelete"This may be the moment when we wake up to the fact that that philosophy is bullshit."
Delete???
I hope you mean the moment when we wake up to the bullshit of pseudo-philosophy or sham philosophy or superficial positive-thinking philosophy or some other sufficiently circumspect distinction between serious philosophy and the other kind. I know YOU know there's much more to stoicism than always looking on the bright side.
Anyway, this is one that philosopher Woody got wrong when he said he couldn't possibly be happy while anyone anywhere was suffering. It's not a mistake to pursue happiness,in even the darkest of times. The mistake is to ignore others' suffering, or to regard their unhappiness as any less important than your own flourishing. (Sen. Paul committed a variety of that mistake when he went to the gym while awaiting the positive results of his COVID-19 test.)
Its nice to see how poeple still try to find happiness even with all that is going on around us. Its a sary time for alot of people and to see the Finnish people trying to keep their smiles up is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe Italians, singing on their balconies,is a great example of that too.
Deletehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-seth-doane-diagnosed-with-covid-19-on-living-under-quarantine/