Aug. 21, 2006
 
COMMENTARY: Worldwide Happiness Poll: Danes 1, Americans 23
 
By David Yount
Scripps Howard News Service
 
Prince Hamlet, step down. Shakespeare's dour Dane can no longer serve as his nation's poster boy. A worldwide survey of 80,000 men and women reveals that Denmark's citizens are the happiest people in the world, topping the former No.1, Iceland. We Americans, for whom the pursuit of happiness was proclaimed as a God-given right in our Declaration of Independence, barely make it to 23rd place in a ranking of the world's most joyful people.
 
Assuming that God is even-handed, how is it that we Americans fare so poorly? After all, as a nation, we spend $700 million every year on self-help books. According to the Pew Research Center, 45 percent of Republicans admit to being "very happy," compared to just 30 percent of Democrats. The Economist opines about Democrats that "the people's party will never regain its momentum unless it relates to the guy on the super-sized patio, happily grilling his hamburgers and displaying his American flag."
 
Then again, why look to The Economist, a British publication, for advice when Britons as a people rank 41st in the worldwide happiness stakes -- some 18 rungs below Americans? Perhaps to compensate, the BBC has produced a six-part television series purporting to reveal "The Happiness Formula." Happiness classes are being taught in a number of British tax-supported schools.
 
The Book of Job discounts the quest for happiness altogether, warning that "man is born into trouble" (Job 18:5). And Mark Twain argued that "sanity and happiness are an impossible combination."
 
Peter Christgau, a retired Danish businessman, believes that his fellow citizens' happiness stems from a good attitude. "The main thing is to have a good time and enjoy life," he says, quickly adding that "Danes have a good work-life balance. ...Everyone is very casual and very much down to earth." Even wealthy Danes favor small inexpensive cars.
 
Money clearly does not purchase happiness. Americans today are, on average, nearly four times more affluent than our parents and grandparents were in 1950, but the percentage of Americans who admit to being "very happy" has remained about the same.
 
What activities make Americans happy? Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahnemann asked 900 Texas women. On a scale of 1 to 5, sex came in tops for them at 4.7, but it occupied on average only 12 minutes a day. Enjoying the company of friends rated a 4 and occupied more than two hours of every day. Watching TV, which scored 3.6, also took up more than two hours a day. Caring for children rated a 3 and commuting 2.6.
 
The elusiveness of happiness undoubtedly reflects the fact that people today have so many choices but realize they can't have it all -- at least not all at the same time. Simon Blackburn of Trinity College, Cambridge, warns that "the more you worry about happiness, the less likely you are to be happy." The Bible doesn't dwell on happiness, but it does say that joy comes from showing mercy, trusting God and serving those in need.
 
David Yount's latest book is "Celebrating the Rest of Your Life: A Baby Boomer's Guide to Spirituality" (Augsburg). He answers readers at P.O. Box 2758, Woodbridge, VA 22195 and dyount(at)erols.com.