The facts of happiness

Letter from Sanjay Perera
04:46 AM Oct 20, 2011


I REFER to the current Parliament sittings and the debate over Gross Domestic Product as a measure of economic success.

It is a healthy sign that fundamental assumptions are being discussed robustly, as we should examine other indicators that can effectively include happiness, the welfare of people and our environment.

Arguments to the effect that Singapore is not Bhutan, but a pseudo-American capitalist entity with a different history, begs the issue of what Singapore actually is.

Singapore, with its unique history, is what its citizens choose what they want it to be now and for tomorrow. The question is whether our attempts at nationhood are boxed in by economic numbers or led by a sense of fairness and well-being for all.

We are also a country which has a matrix of legislation. However, part of trying to sidestep the situation of legislating happiness is to examine going beyond using merely numbers in finding a happy meld of policy and the way we lead our lives.

Just as any government of the day has to do its part, we the citizens have to do ours. In tandem with having a balanced look at ways to measure progress, we have to ask: Can we do more to show tolerance and compassion?

While it is natural for us to focus on our grievances, as it is sometimes a way to keep a sense of justice alive, there are certainly more instances of courtesy and kindness in our society than are reported in the media.

It takes greater effort to speak up on what is right and to show gratitude to the people around us. A regular feed of good news and what works well is rare in the media or among ourselves.

The front pages tend to be about who blasted whom to kingdom come and of the fears in our lives. Any wonder then, this becomes the reality we believe in and create?

When the good we can and do perform is given appropriate publicity and encouraged by the authorities, the way we lead our lives may well result in a ground energy that would compel any clear thinking government to do what is right virtually all the time.

What we do not need is a slew of legislation based on which we take one another to court because we have been made "unhappy".


Via: http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC111020-0000134/The-facts-of-happiness