Purchasing Happiness
America is ranked the second in most psychologically depressed country in the world, France being first. It’s ironic that we are a nation of such depression when our primary goal is to promote freedom, equality, and the “pursuit of happiness”. Nearly everyone’s desire in life is to be happy which manifests itself in different forms. We strive for contentment, but sometimes come up empty handed. It is the sense of emptiness that follows unhappiness we desperately try to avoid. The joy in life is what we should be striving for, but sometimes it is confused with the materialistic things America so highly exalts. Even though money is warned of being independent from happiness, and connected with corruption and other cynical actions, Americans continually turn to the light green paper as a source of fulfillment.
Everyone knows that money can never cure humans of the emotional baggage they carry, it creates only a distraction, and postpones resolutions to real problems. Money just pushes the issues under the rug for them to escalate and come to light later. Recent studies from The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Forbes magazine show that wealth can in fact bring
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It is power and control. It is the ultimate reward that every culture is defined by. Sometimes various cultures even manifest their economies by gift giving or bartering, but it still comes down to the concept of money. Without money, it is nearly impossible to survive. It is so highly coveted because of its ability to buys options. Options, in turn, can relieve stress. They make it easier to experience happiness, not guaranteeing it, but by creating various environments for work, fun, and living. It buys the ability to relax and enjoy life without all the everyday worries. To clarify: I do not believe you can buy happiness, but you can buy "things” which can facilitate