The Problem With Our Pursuit of Happiness

“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.” From the United States’ Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. So began our country’s separation from England and our perpetual battle to further define, secure, and defend those unalienable rights. Our Founders worked hard to give us specific enough buckets to frame the intent behind the laws that would be written following the Declaration while allowing us the latitude to refine the necessary particularities. We’ve pressed the limits on each of them. I’ll leave life and liberty for another day. Today, I’d like to talk about happiness. The pursuit of happiness as envisioned at the founding of the United States was one centered on opportunity and flourishing. Our collective vision centered on taking our freedom and chasing our dream for a better life – however that might defined for each of us as individuals. This new country would be a land of opportunity in our ultimate test of self-government. What is happiness? Merriam-Webster offers a number of distinct definitions: 1 : favored by luck or fortune : FORTUNATE — a happy coincidence 2 : notably fitting, effective, or well adapted : FELICITOUS –a happy choice 3 a : enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment — is the happiest person I know — a happy childhood b : expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness — a happy ending c : GLAD, PLEASED — I’m happy to meet you d : having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship : FRIENDLY — a happy office For the most part, we would associate happiness with the feeling of being pleased or a sense of contentment. After all, who doesn’t want to enjoy their life? This aspect of happy moves us toward the pleasure side of experience, which may still be a hopeful element of the notion of flourishing, but ultimately falls short of our more nuanced and complex existence. Happy at the level of being “pleased” is far too simplistic to capture the essence of intent in our Declaration, right? Looking around, it seems that somewhere along the way, we decided to take it literally. Not only should we pursue it but we deserve it. It is owed to us. It’s an unalienable right, right? Somewhere along the way, we began to believe that if we aren’t feeling happy, something is wrong. This attachment to the feel-good, emotional aspect of happiness has become incredibly damaging. What happens when we expect something and we don’t get it? Disappointment. High incidences of addiction, anxiety, and depression point to a general state of melancholy, a malaise brought-on by unhappiness. Much of our “mental health” crisis is attached to states of disap