Blog Five

Harriet Martineau is a very interesting character. She believed that “the role of sociologist as that of public educator.” Her writing addressed absolutely everyone.

Martineau’s law of social life was simple: “the great ends of human association aim above all to the grand one-the only one-human happiness.” We strive for happiness, but how do we arrive there? She studied the fundamental organization of society by examining patterns of human relationships and activities within society. Her comparative approach led her to look at things such as attitude towards money, nature, entertainment, norms of housing, sexuality, etc.

But one of the most interesting things she talked about was anomaly. This term refers to the misalignment between morals and manners. This disruption essentially inhibits happiness. If the United States values things, or preaches to value certain traits, such as freedom and equality, then why do anomalies exist? Wage gaps, access to education, sexism, discrimination, women’s lower status—all of these things are a disruption to happiness. This isn’t equality, and some of it is just down right bull. Then there’s Gross National Happiness. And what the hell is that? With no universal definition of happiness, what would the GNH be? The term was coined by the fourth Dragon King in Bhutan. He was committed to building an economy that would serve their culture and Buddhist values. Their economic development should be balanced with the people’s well-being. As a goal, their cultural life should have a stronger sense of community.

I think it’s interesting if you ask someone to define happiness or the essentials to make you happy; everyone’s answer will vary with some overlapping. If you ask an eight year old boy what makes him happy, he might say a toy or a bike. Some people may say money, others may say Jesus, some may say just being alive. That’s exactly what this youtube video did called “What IS Happiness?” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXUHdwB-ph0). Some people say their relationship makes them happy, shopping, love, their children, etc. At the same time, some people say that the harder you try to be happy, the unhappier the individual becomes. One man says it’s hard to be happy when he continues to see poor people clash with rich people. There are unlimited answers to this question.