JAMAICA — The main thing, the most important thing, is that most people are unhappy in this country.
The politicians, presumably charged with ameliorating the issues and problems we struggle with in this country, do not talk about that. They seek to be our representatives, but they don't represent what we are going through and what most of us in this unhappy nation are experiencing.
The politicians speak almost exclusively about money and money-related matters. Well, it is true that a lack of money is stressing most people, and having more money would relieve a lot of stress for most people.
But money is not the same thing as happiness. It is a piece of the puzzle but does not deal with core issues of happiness and unhappiness. For instance, if people did have more money, they would probably spend most of it and come back to the same stress of not enough money. For instance, read the stories of most people who win lotteries.
What would make people more happy and what is making most people unhappy?
Most politicians do not talk directly about this, if at all. And they are missing or avoiding the main point.
If I am right about this, then nearly every politician and representative in the United States of America is not representing us in terms of maintaining a discussion about the unhappiness in this country, the experience of living in this “Prozac Nation.” In so not doing, they encourage and practice denial about what is the most important fact of our lives.
So, I guess, my possibly useful point is to ask our politicians and representatives to bring into open dialogue what is most important in our lives.