Aspiring to the Worst
Dan Shaughnessy, in introducing a column about how good it is to be a Red Sox fan right now, writes:
This caught my eye because it so succinctly wraps up a bunch of awful (to me) aspirations. Is this the American Dream nowadays? Vanity, environmental disregard, overpriced and unnecessary luxury, and not having to pay for what you use? Where's the part about health, family, friends, peace or honor? That list of good things couldn't get more ego-centric unless you added 3 inches (two cup sizes if you are a woman).
Now, this is just a sports column, and essentially a throwaway thought to set up how sweet it is to have Boston kick Yankee ass. But that's telling. Everything in there except wishing for good weather is mildly repugnant to me. How many people read that and said "yup, that would be just about perfect."?
Happiness, it seems, is prettiness, or dumping energy wasting fertilizers on your grass, or being able to cushion your ass while you own the road, which you shouldn't have to share or pay for.
April 26th, 2004 at 2:24 am
I agree with your assessment. Ask people about happiness and many will probably give you descriptions similar to that column.
Although, I suspect the column was trying not to be too weighty. There is an element of humor in it, and it probably seemed funnier to use a superficial assessment of happiness. I can’t say whether it was intentional or not.
April 26th, 2004 at 3:02 am
Well, I have no special insights into the Curly Haired Boyfriend’s brain, so was it a clever caricature of our culture or just the first 5 nice things that rolled off his head? We’ll never know…
April 26th, 2004 at 7:56 am
>>or being able to cushion your ass while you own the road>>
Awww CHB’s ass has enough natural cushioning to make it possible for him to ride comfortably down the Mass pike on a metal folding chair.
April 26th, 2004 at 6:47 pm
3 inches? What would I do with 3 more inches!?!
None of those things save the nice weather would be on my list of happiness. Because, I find Brad Pitt repugnant, I wouldn’t ever want a front ‘lawn’, why would I be driving a cadillac (I’m not 60 years old), even if there were no traffic I’d rather ride a train or bus (can’t catch up with my reading/napping while driving), and I believe that people should have to pay to use the Pike.
But all that being said, if someone asked me what would make me happy, money would probably be very close to the top of the list. Having to worry about money makes me uncomfortable, more money makes me more comfortable, being comfortable makes me happy. Of course that leads into the whole spiral of how much is enough? Will I always be wanting just a little more money, for that little last thing that I feel I need to make me comfortable, and happy?