4 ms·

Andrew, you're fine. I'm going to guess that you're American as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. Happiness as virtue i

by gwilkes 10y ago

Andrew, you're fine. I'm going to guess that you're American as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. Happiness as virtue is not universal, maybe you need some more time abroad. I know you said you visited 100 countries but visiting 100 countries and living in another country for many years is quite a different thing. Or maybe you just need different friends or perhaps a meditation practice, I don't know. I'll leave you with this 2 minute video from Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Interesting?": https://youtu.be/U88jj6PSD7w https://youtu.be/U88jj6PSD7w

ajuc 10y ago
> as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. Yup. I blame their constitution.
- mixmastamyk 10y ago
  That's the Declaration of Independence you're thinking of, I believe.
  - ajuc 10y ago
    Right, my bad.
thatfrenchguy 10y ago
> as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. You haven't met a lot of French people :-)
triangleman 10y ago
Chesterton wrote about the folly of globe-trotting: "The globe-trotter lives in a smaller world than the peasant. He is always breathing, an air of locality. London is a place, to be compared to Chicago; Chicago is a place, to be compared to Timbuctoo. But Timbuctoo is not a place, since there, at least, live men who regard it as the universe, and breathe, not an air of locality, but the winds of the world. The man in the saloon steamer has seen all the races of men, and he is thinking of the things that divide men — diet, dress, decorum, rings in the nose as in Africa, or in the ears as in Europe, blue paint among the ancients, or red paint among the modern Britons. The man in the cabbage field has seen nothing at all; but he is thinking of the things that unite men — hunger and babies, and the beauty of women, and the promise or menace of the sky." - http://www.ccel.org/ccel/chesterton/heretics.iii.html http://www.ccel.org/ccel/chesterton/heretics.iii.html

by gwilkes 10y ago

ajuc 10y ago

> as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. Yup. I blame their constitution.

mixmastamyk 10y ago
That's the Declaration of Independence you're thinking of, I believe.
- ajuc 10y ago
  Right, my bad.

thatfrenchguy 10y ago

> as America is the most happy-obsessed culture in the world in my experience. You haven't met a lot of French people :-)

triangleman 10y ago

Chesterton wrote about the folly of globe-trotting: "The globe-trotter lives in a smaller world than the peasant. He is always breathing, an air of locality. London is a place, to be compared to Chicago; Chicago is a place, to be compared to Timbuctoo. But Timbuctoo is not a place, since there, at least, live men who regard it as the universe, and breathe, not an air of locality, but the winds of the world. The man in the saloon steamer has seen all the races of men, and he is thinking of the things that divide men — diet, dress, decorum, rings in the nose as in Africa, or in the ears as in Europe, blue paint among the ancients, or red paint among the modern Britons. The man in the cabbage field has seen nothing at all; but he is thinking of the things that unite men — hunger and babies, and the beauty of women, and the promise or menace of the sky." - http://www.ccel.org/ccel/chesterton/heretics.iii.html http://www.ccel.org/ccel/chesterton/heretics.iii.html