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Americans' unhappy birthday: 'Too much wrong'
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-06 11:16 Perhaps, out of these trying days, we may see a more comprehensive energy policy, a sooner-than-later resolution of the war and, even, a more profound sense of personal responsibility -- the motivation we needed to spend within our means, or make use of car-pool lanes and mass transit. It's happening already, in big ways and small. Hammack planted a garden of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots. "If I can save a few bucks," she says, "I'm going to." In Louisiana, Vallot buys fuel in bulk now and is looking at ways other farmers might pool together to bring the cost of diesel down further. "We have to take matters into our own hands," he says. Many have, and that certainly erases some of the helplessness that begets despair. But Americans also must recognize that happiness -- the stuff that truly fulfills and gratifies -- comes not from what we own but who we are, says Dr. David Burns, a psychiatrist at Stanford University's School of Medicine. "We tend to base our self-esteem on certain things that we think we need to be worthwhile as human beings. A lot of us base it on achievement, intelligence, productivity. Our sense of self-esteem gets tied up with our career, our income. So when things start reversing, you begin to feel like less of a person." Nevertheless, says Burns, "Where joy comes from is a completely different place." For Ernestine Leach, it's keeping the faith that this, too, shall pass. Her minister, the Rev. Dumas Harshaw Jr., has noticed some new faces in his pews as troubles deepen. He senses that more Americans are "in a wilderness, psychologically and spiritually," and "are trying to find grounding." As Harshaw tells his congregation, we Americans are in a "season of testing." Katy Neild, the Arizona Optimist whose son fights on in Iraq, understands that better than most. She worries about her child, and about the many other dilemmas confronting Americans. "Did I cringe when I filled my car last week? Yes," she says. "But 100 years from now, if I were still alive, would I really care that I paid $4 a gallon for gas? No. I care my grandbaby is safe and she's well and she has a good place to live. "Your joy can't be about your circumstances." As she says this, the other Optimists nod in agreement. Then their president, Susan Kruse, begins reciting one of the 10 tenets of the "Optimist Creed," and the others soon join in, their smiles returning. "Forget the mistakes of the past," they chime in unison, "and press on to the greater achievements of the future." In the end, that's what the Optimists do. They get their troubles off their chests, debate possible solutions -- and then move on to doing what they can to make some positive changes in their communities, and in their own lives. A birthday lesson for all Americans, perhaps.
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