Are We Having Fun, Yet?

     Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg, Mexico.

     Why those nations? Well, I'm glad you asked.

     The 10 nations listed above happen to be the 10 happiest nations on earth, according to the annual Happiness Index. They factor in all sorts of variables while compiling their data, including how young people 30 and under feel about their present and future, whether people are eating alone or in company.

     The Happiness Report came out on March 19 this year. And, since I'm sure many of you are well aware, Scandinavia routinely is at the top of the list. Look at the number one nation, Finland. Finland has topped the Happiness Index for the eighth year in a row. And, considering how progressive Scandinavian nations tend to be, it should come as no surprise to anyone to see that five of the top seven nations on earth are Scandinavian.

     When the index came out last March,  the CEO of Gallup Polls, Jon Clifton, added his input. I'm paraphrasing him here but his point was that national happiness isn't or shouldn't be based solely on wealth and economic prosperity. Rather, he said, it should also factor in things such as a sense of belonging and knowing that others have your back.

     And Mr. Clifton is absolutely right.

     And that leads us to our place on the index.

     The United States finished 24th, the lowest it's ever been since they'd begun compiling the index. Just two years ago, in 2023, we finished 13th. It could've been better but still not terrible. But our falling 11 places in two years shows there is something very, very wrong with our nation. And Trump seizing back power in January this year can't be dismissed out of hand as a contributing factor. There is a causality, a correlation.

     Let's go back to Finland for a minute. Not too long ago, I'd written a post about that nation taking care of their homeless problem by building them shelters, integrating them with all the resources the Finnish government could offer them. After the officials crunched the numbers, they realized their homeless initiatives had an 80% efficacy rate. 4 out of 5 people used those resources to improve the quality of their lives. Then I asked, If they can do it, why can't we?

     To go back to Mr. Clifton's astute comments for a moment, our relative discontent surely stems in part from our cynicism of the US government. We no longer have the luxury of assuming that the government has our best interests at heart, that our government has our backs. Yes, there are many reasons why Finland tops the list eight years running, but I'd wager one of them is that the people of Finland know the government is on their side and that it'll be there to help them if they need it.

     For perhaps the first time in American history, the overwhelming majority of Americans (let's say, the bottom 90% that'll be victimized by the "big beautiful bill") no longer have the luxury of assuming the US government is one our side. Hardly a day goes by, even on the weekends, when we don't hear in the news about the government victimizing us in one way or the other.

     Thousands of government workers have been fired without just cause. Government agencies that used to work for the American people are being downsized or eliminated entirely. Trump's idiotic trade wars are raising prices across the board. Government funding for disease research is being slashed wholesale. People are getting thrown off their social safety nets. And ICE and other government agencies are sweeping across the country like a metastasizing cancer arresting and deporting even American citizens or legal nationals and leaving businesses and farms without adequate staff.

     Remember Ronald Reagan 's famous, "The nine scariest words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help'."

     It's as if Trump's administration is going out of its way to prove just how horrible and counterproductive the government truly is. It's as if they want us to hate the government but not to the point where we actually get angry or criticize it (Witness LA).

     And, yes, it's exactly as if Trump is trying to kill as many US citizens as humanly possible. It's not enough to say that we're living in a dystopian nightmare because that phrase has long since lost its shock value. The guy who'd sent nearly 5000 troops to Los Angeles is having a $92,000,000 military parade thrown in his "honor", a massive birthday present to feed his bloated ego, while his minions are looking for "waste, fraud and abuse".