Americas Joy
Clyon
The Declaration of Independence gives the people of America the concept of a constant pursuit of happiness; This would lead to innovation and the betterment of our country. However, I don’t believe this has been our priority. In the last two years, we as a country for the first time ever has dropped out of the top twenty in the worldwide ranking of happiness. There are many factors listed as to why we are facing some of the lowest rankings we have ever seen since its creation, like a generational and economic divide. The younger generation is faced with higher home prices and stagnant wages that does not compete with the price of necessities. Then there is the constant stream of low-quality, high-pressure ads telling you what you are missing in your life. Pushed by a small group of corporations that own the majority of all consumer brands in America, which have shown time and time again that they are willing to hide the loss of our lives, and create useless insecurities just to make a buck off of you.
It feels as if every person who is supposed to inform or protect you is lying to you for their own self-gain. This obviously has created uncertainty in our people. That uncertainty can lead to desperation that can make people fall into extremist ideologies, to keep them feeling like there is an answer.
However, we are not lost causes. We are nowhere close to a point of no return. We have to show kindness and make reform. People are not bills, people are not money, people are not inherently evil. Evil is a plague formed from a lack of understanding, empathy, and grace toward our fellow humans. If we want to be happy again, we don’t just need our right to the pursuit of happiness; we need to take it for ourselves because the people in power won’t just give it to us without a price tag or subscription attached.
Our founding fathers wanted future generations not to be prosecuted by the people in power as they had been. They wanted us to be happier than they could be. If we as a people could move away from the serpents holding the apple of greed, promising plastic faces, and endless fallacies. We can move away from the man-created evils and into the arms of our own self-preservation. A place that promises innovation, ingenuity, and exploration of our minds.
Do not become jaded in the face of injustice; our constitution was made not for the government’s protection, but for our own. We as a people do not deserve for our joy to be trivialized into overconsumption. Take hands with one another, and do not become separated from your communities through the means of algorithms meant to keep us apart. Fight for your happiness, and keep America united.
