Money and Happiness

 We have all heard it said, many times I am sure, "Money can't buy happiness". And technically this is true. However, there are things that money does which promotes the space to be happy. Maybe not buying Happiness, sure promoting it's possibility.

So what does money do that helps provide space to be happy? It helps to take care of the basic life necessities that without there is no hope of happiness.

A single Mother who has to try to figure out how to keep the kids fed, warm, and clothed, while trying to juggle paying for food, clothes, and heating fuel, while keeping a car that she cannot afford to replace on the road so that she can work, trying to choose what she can pay and what she can put off, has no hope of happiness at all. Just dreadful worry.

A single Father trying to decide how to feed the kids while keeping up with astronomical medical bills from one kids sickness while staying at a job that has no benefits because that is all he can get has no possibility of happiness. Only dreadful worry and sorrow.

And what about the recently paroled felon who cannot find a job because our system is based on Punishment instead of Rehabilitation and Redemption? Forced to go back to crime because otherwise they will freeze or starve. No happiness is possible. Just resignation and despair.

I could go on, yet I think that you are smart enough to see where this is going. Having enough Money for people who cannot meet basic needs is not going to buy happiness. It will, however, facilitate the possibility of achieving happiness.

So how do we achieve this? I am not sure that we do. Not because we lack the ability. We have the ability. 

It is because our Political System is Owned and Operated by the Uber Wealthy who have a vested interest in making sure that this never happens.

It is because we have a large part of our electorate that has been convinced that we need to keep the Uber Wealthy in charge in order for wealth to "Trickle Down".

It is because an even larger part of the electorate has been so distracted and programmed by Wedge Issues, such as Guns, Abortion, Civil Rights, etc, that they cannot see their own pockets being picked.

We cannot because it would take us, as a Nation, taking a good hard look at our own History and seeing where we have taken some Massive Wrong Turns, and turning around to go in a different direction.

We cannot because we have allowed ourselves to become a Nation of Selfish Individuals instead of a Tribe, Clan, Family, of people bound by our Common Humanity and History.

We cannot because we are the Fragmented Many instead of the United One. We must remember to act as a Unified People instead of always being the King of our own little Hill.

We must remember that "The good of the many outweighs the needs of the few". And this does not mean a Dictatorship of the Majority either. This means what Benefits all is Good for all and what Injures any is not Good for Any.

So, quite a thing. To see for us all and not just for ourselves or our own little community. To see us all, even those with whom we massively disagree, as members of the same family, same community. And to have respect for everyone just because we are all of the same family, the same community.

That Shit is hard. That Shit is mandatory.

We will not survive as a nation, or as Humanity, without it.

Without seeing that we all Deserve to have enough to meet our Basic Needs, without seeing that we all can have enough without anyone having to suffer, without seeing that another's suffering diminishes my life, we will all die. Maybe not right away. Soon however.

Because ultimately, having enough Money to have our basic needs met, does buy Happiness. And not having enough, makes Happiness impossible. And when others cannot be Happy, I submit that neither can anyone else be Happy either. For their Unhappiness will diminish my Happiness. Because, in the end, we are all connected. We are all ONE.