on happiness
There are many differences between Singapore and America. (i am aware, of course, that this is one of those statements that means about as much as "There are many differences between cats and dogs." Still, one has to start somewhere, and why not the obvious and banal?) But i think that one of the most fundamental differences lies in our attitudes towards effort and achievement. And this is where words prove their power, if not in shaping our values, then at least in reflecting and reinforcing existing biases.
Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for.....
Exhibit A: The Declaration of Independence
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
Exhibit B: The National Pledge of the Republic of Singapore
"... so as to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for our people."
Americans pursue happiness; Singaporeans achieve it. Game, set and match to my beloved high-achieving country.
* * * * * *
Happiness is one of those things that is notoriously difficult to make good art about. Imagine Heathcliff on Prozac. Unhappiness, on the other hand, is cool: it stalks the night with spray paint and a broken beer bottle, screaming its agony to a raven-black sky. Or something like that, anyway.
The arts are peopled by depressive, angst-ridden figures who seem haunted by their failure to achieve the happiness they so desperately pursue. And the sad thing is, the greater the artist, the greater the unhappiness. The Who's Who of the arts world reads like a roll call of the truly miserable: Beethoven, Van Gogh, TS Eliot - who was a great writer until he found happiness in his second marriage. On the other hand, happy people like Mendelssohn are generally known to be mediocre artists whose work somehow does not have the depth and emotional power of their unhappier counterparts.
That depth and emotional power should have their roots in negative emotions is a cliche that, like any cliche, needs to be questioned and examined even while we acknowledge the store of truth and experience that made it a cliche in the first place. Surely hope and joy need not be shallow or naive.
Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for.....
Exhibit A: The Declaration of Independence
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
Exhibit B: The National Pledge of the Republic of Singapore
"... so as to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for our people."
Americans pursue happiness; Singaporeans achieve it. Game, set and match to my beloved high-achieving country.
* * * * * *
Happiness is one of those things that is notoriously difficult to make good art about. Imagine Heathcliff on Prozac. Unhappiness, on the other hand, is cool: it stalks the night with spray paint and a broken beer bottle, screaming its agony to a raven-black sky. Or something like that, anyway.
The arts are peopled by depressive, angst-ridden figures who seem haunted by their failure to achieve the happiness they so desperately pursue. And the sad thing is, the greater the artist, the greater the unhappiness. The Who's Who of the arts world reads like a roll call of the truly miserable: Beethoven, Van Gogh, TS Eliot - who was a great writer until he found happiness in his second marriage. On the other hand, happy people like Mendelssohn are generally known to be mediocre artists whose work somehow does not have the depth and emotional power of their unhappier counterparts.
That depth and emotional power should have their roots in negative emotions is a cliche that, like any cliche, needs to be questioned and examined even while we acknowledge the store of truth and experience that made it a cliche in the first place. Surely hope and joy need not be shallow or naive.
... work in progress ...
posted by eothen @ 8:57 PM
1 Comments:
Good call on the declaration of independence vs the Singapore pledge. I'd never noticed it before.
Spray paint and screams of agony under a raven black sky is funny.
Keep writing my dear.
xo,
Yr friend in "America"
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