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Opinion

Pursuit for 'happiness' drowns life

Paul Eckert
Guest Columnist

Stop for just a minute and think about where you are. Take a deep breath and look at everything around you: the buildings, the trees, the people -- and know that your life will never get any better than this. No matter how bad things are going right now, realize this is life and you should love every minute of it. 

What about your homework, credit card debt, broken relationships and disillusionment? They don't matter. Right now, all those things are mirages that are holding you back from seeing the big picture.

The truth is life is easier than it has ever been in the history of our world. But there's something funny about contemporary America: More people are depressed now than ever before. A 2003 study funded in part by American Express found that Americans experience higher levels of stress and depression than the war-torn, famine-stricken Third World countries. Think about that: People who spend their lives running from bombs and bullets experience less depression than Americans. Did we miss a meeting? What do these people know that we don't?

The answer is that they know each twenty-four hour block of life is a supreme and gracious gift. You see, those countries that aren't blessed with democracy have a distinct and unconquerable advantage over America: Their life is not based on getting more than what they already have. In America, we can't go a single day without seeing a commercial that tells us that we need more, and our lives are not complete until we live in a Beverly Hills mansion, drive a Lexus and attain the flawless body of a movie star. That's the American dream: getting more than you already have. Deep down we know that "The Dream" is a lie, but that's the power of suggestion; if you hear something enough you start to believe it. Our entire economy is founded on people buying things they don't need. 

How dismal it would be to die in the middle of all this indoctrination. Your heart pumps its last beat and you end life with a scowl on your face because you never caught the carrot you've spent your entire life chasing. As your last breath expires, the government and big business capitalists hold hands and laugh all the way to the bank. 

Some people will read this and think I'm some kind of anarchist bent on the destruction of freedom, but these poor, misguided souls are missing the big picture. Our society enslaves us, and it's up to the people to free themselves and cultivate individualism.

So what can we do to avoid the bottomless pit of indoctrination and emptiness? Appreciate every day that your eyes open, because even though they see a shallow and crumbling world raging with the fire of discontent, this is all we have right now. Don't worry about where you're going -- appreciate how you're getting there. The people who live in Third World countries love every day that their life isn't taken by a bullet. 

So wake up America, and wipe the mist from your third eye. This is life, and while we're here, it doesn't get any better than this.

Eckert, a guest columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu