HAPPINESS

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

From positivepsychology.com -- happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. ... Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings.     Apr 15, 2020

From Wikipedia  --  The term happiness is used in the context of mental or emotional states, including positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. It is also used in the context of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, eudaimonia, flourishing and well-being.

Overlook the fact that, in part, these two quotes contradict each other and focus on what it is that you think constitutes happiness...

• Some believe happiness is achieved with money
• Some believe that happiness is achieved with power
• Some believe that happiness is achieved with ownership of assets
• Some believe that happiness is achieved with a strong faith
• Some believe that happiness is achieved with peace of mind

Given all these differences, one can now easily see why our FOUNDING FATHERS said that our government should focus on THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS...

SO...  the question now becomes does our government give every citizen an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE?

My pursuit of HAPPINESS is going to be different from your pursuit of HAPPINESS because our physical, mental, and personality limitations are DIFFERENT...  and, they are different because we were not born EQUALLY nor is all our DNA equal which is another reason we are different.  AND...  our differences are compounded with our geographical location and by our birth parents who may or may not be willing to help us with our pursuit of happiness.

SO...  WE AGAIN RELY ON OUR GOVERNMENT...

Government is not our parent nor should it be our parent but some would have us believe that Government SHOULD/MUST be our parent in order to achieve some level of EQUALITY FOR ALL.

Personally, I am not as financially well off as my parents were (both are dead now) and my pursuit of happiness was very much different from their pursuit of happiness and the direction in which they tried to push me.

OUR GOVERNMENT had nothing to do with the choices I MADE and will continue to make until I too am DEAD.

BUT, I was not born in a ghetto...   and unfortunately, I am white...   and, I wonder if my pursuit of happiness and personality would have been different if I were black and born in the ghetto...   but, my wondering is irrelevant because no matter how much I wonder, it will never change who I am and who I have become.

Why do some overcome their handicaps and others do not?

Answering this question is exactly why we will never be equal in America...