Seek Happiness

"If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years." (Bertrand Russell, British author, mathematician, philosopher)

On first read, it sounds selfish and wrong. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it and realized that most of the horrible things that have happened throughout history have resulted from someone wishing the unhappiness of others, more than anything else. Hitler wanted Jews dead, Confederates wanted slaves worked to death, Bush wanted Saddam dead, the KKK wanted blacks dead and a certain faction of people want gays, if not dead, at least removed from society. Terrorists wish evil on all non-Muslims. It goes on and on. All of this hatred is probably driven by an innate unhappiness with ones' own life.

I wonder how history might have changed if, say, Hitler (a renowned vegetarian) nibbled a nice medium-rare tenderloin steak once in awhile and had daily hour-long body massages. Maybe if someone tickled his moustache, bought him a friendly golden doodle, and enjoined him in a lively game of Parcheesi, Germany might be seen as the love capital of the world.

Just this week in the news is the story of Steven Hatfill, the man who was dogged by the FBI in 2002, for being associated with the anthrax attacks after 9/11/01, despite the lack of any evidence whatsoever. He was finally exonerated, and awarded a multi-million dollar settlement, but not before suffering years of being followed, hassled, harassed, ticketed, searched, etc. (This week he agreed to speak to the media for the first time.) It seems likely that the FBI most certainly wanted his (or some scapegoat's) unhappiness, more than they wanted to find the truth. Parenthetically, no one knows the truth behind the whole anthrax debacle. The subsequent suspect, Bruce Ivins committed suicide. That, too, probably made the FBI happy.

On a personal level, I know I behave better when I'm happy. After a good night's sleep, a healthy, hearty breakfast and a brisk walk on a woodsy trail, I feel like I could conquer all the world's ills. I may do nothing more than donate a few magazines to the senior center, or not cuss out some dodo-head at the roundabout (well, that might be a stretch), but at least I'm not plotting the annihilation of some innocent people.