The Pursuit of Happiness: An Individual's Role in America
...ens they were created to support. The problem is that most of the people they are designed to help do not have a desire to help themselves; therefore, they abuse the programs. Instead of using the government aid to better their lives, they use it as an excuse as to why they do not need to improve their situation. Why work, when they can get free money from the government. This entry from my Experiential Journal describes my personal experience with the importance of self-sufficiency: July 25, 2004: Today I got a call from my friend. Her car had just broken down and she was contemplating selling her children’s Christmas presents to pay for it. She has been having a difficult few months and I feel for her, but I also know that she isn’t always committed to her employment. She takes many days off unpaid from work and at one time even depended on welfare and food stamps to support her family. I loaned her the money to pay for her car, but I also tried to persuade her to put in a little more time at work. I know that if feels good to be able to support myself with no outside help and I wish she could see that as well, but I will always be there for my friends. While the American government does play a major role in supporting our rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; there needs to be a balance between government support and individual participation. Each individual has a responsibility to help support themselves and is given the opportunity to support themselves through work. The history of the world over the past 200 years shows that capitalism did indeed permit and encourage ordinary men and women in pursuit of their own happiness to improve their conditions. Even Marx did not deny this. We are not as poor as our grandparents. We are all better off because individuals in pursuit of happiness, and without barriers being put in their way, are very creative, innovative, and adept at finding ways for societies to be more productive, thereby creating more wealth in which everyone shares.” (Kristol, 1978, pg. 544) Locke (1690) wrote “all men are naturally in a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they see fit, within the bounds of the law of Nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man.” (Locke, 1690 p.196). It is up to each citizen to decide how to use that opportunity and to be the master of their own fate. I believe the harder you work the more you get and the more self respect you gain which all leads to a higher level of happiness. It is an incentive program to work and succeed on your own. “Continuity of purpose is one of the most essential ingredients of happiness in the long run, and for most men this comes chiefly through their work.” (Russell, 1930, pg. 560) It is the responsibility of each individual to help support the American society through our work and our relationships with other individuals. It is the actions of each individual within our society that determine the level of happiness which can be obtained. Aristotle argued that “Individual happiness is the highest goal but virtue, which leads to happiness, must be developed in the community. The good and meaningful life consists in pursuing virtue with ones neighbors and family within the society of the city community.” (Devine, Lecture 6.3) If you treat your neighbors with respect and virtue, they will (most of the time) return the favor to you, which leads to a much happier society. In order to find peace and happiness within our society we need to be conscious of our actions towards others and treat others as we wish to be treated by others whether we are at work, at home or in public. “It is the story of neighbors and friends rolling up their sleeves and pitching in to help one another, of self-sacrifice, community pride, and patriotism. It is about American’s essential generosity and compassion toward those in need.” (Reich, 1987, pg 590) I find this statement to be true. I find true happiness and a higher level of self-respect when helping my friends, neighbors and even complete strangers. This excerpt from my Experiential Journal shows an example of a community pulling together in time of need: July 5, 2004: Two weeks ago we had a bad storm go through town that left our town in a mess. I live in a small town in Iowa and it was good to see the community pull together to clean up the mess. Trees and debris were scattered everywhere. We spent the whole day after the storm going from house to house cutting up the fallen trees and hauling them off. Everyone from neighbors to friends and even a few strangers were involved in the clean up. It felt good to help others and it felt great when they started working on my house. Many individuals feel that they have a religious obligation to community, to neighbors, to love them as themselves. I was raised in a Christian and was brought up to believe in the moral obligations and the value’s instilled by the Christian faith. I believe that it is extremely important to treat others with respect as I wish to be treated, but I don’t believe that I feel this way due to the preaching’s from the Bible. It is human nature to feel the need to treat other humans as you would want to be treated, regardless of ones a religious or a non-religious upbringing. It is up to each individual to act as they see fit as long as their actions do not impose on the freedoms of others. Locke believed that “although each individual was free, no one had the moral right to improperly impose on another’s freedom or no one could enjoy it.” (Devine, lecture 7.1) In addition to our relationships with others and our obligation to work, Americans have an obligation to civic responsibility. In order to sustain a healthy progressive type government for the people by the people, it takes an active participation of the citizens which that government supports and protects. “A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government.” (Hamilton or Madison, 1788, pg 227) In Easing Political Cynicism with Civic Involvement, Derek Bok (2001) describes the problems facing America today regarding civic involvement by our citizens: On the one hand, voters have more influence over their government than at any time in recent memory, and they would like even greater control by deciding more policy issues by referendum, devolving more authority to local officials, and replacing professional politicians with people like themselves through the use of term limits. On the other hand, while wishing to exert more influence, Americans are devoting decreasing amounts of time to politics and public life – voting less, attending fewer political meetings, reading less about evens in Washington, even listening to speeches by the president. This is an ominous trend. The public’s growing lack of interest in civic affairs contributes in important ways to deficiencies and frustrations that trouble people most about their government….Until we are prepared to take our roles as citizens more seriously, there is little prospect that institutional tinkering and election reform can accomplish enough to ease our discontent. (Bok, 2001, pg. 600) One of our ri...