Are Americans Too Positive?

I've been thinking a lot lately about the power of positive thinking... but also about nuance and complexity, and how these two often tend to get lost in our "rush" to be happy. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I aspire to exuberance, which is why Tigger is my patron saint -- at least as far as the expression of joy is concerned. However, I would never argue that perpetual sunniness is desireable, or even tolerable. That would be like 365 days of the same balmly weather (which might be nice if you're a retiree, but I'm not in the golf-is-life lifestyle yet). Seasonal cycles and emotional variation seem more in harmony with nature and the human spirit. But where do we draw the line?

A recent online book review reminds me of this again. "The Tyranny of Positive Thinking" takes a look at Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.") Both seem to argue that Americans take the cheery idea too far, adopting attitudes that are not in line with objective data. We paste smiley faces over hard truths, ignoring information that disagrees with our self-motivational outlooks.

An extract:

Could it be that “thinking positively” is contributing to our blindness and inaction around energy issues, environmental degradation and economic devastation? I’ve hammered this point home in a number of posts, the most widely read being “Do You Have a Panglossian Disorder?.” Now, a trenchant social observer provides a clear outline of how that may well be so, elaborating on the ‘dangers of positive thinking.’

While I agree that American culture has become oversimplified and superficial, I also believe that there's always something to be depressed about if you put your mind to it. Oil is ending, the permafrost is melting, Africans are starving, the debt is rising, and every day I'm getting a little older. How could a person possibly be happy when confronted with the realities of existence?

In doing research for my latest project, I am reading books on Buddhist ethics, including the thoughts of the Dalai Lama. They provide a stark contrast to my own restless Orthodoxy and tiggerish/bipolar tendencies, helping to ground and center my being and bring it balance. I'm always amazed at how content Buddhists are on the page and in person. They do not go out of their way to evade facts, and yet the facts never seem to get them down.

I'll post more thoughts on the subject as the days unfold. It just so happens that this train of thought runs parallel to the philosophical basis for our planned trip to Tahati: the premise that physical paradise ought to have an impact on our perceptions of happiness. Will our moods reflect the environment? Or will we merely take our own joys and sorrows with us?

You can read more about the Tyranny of Happiness HERE.

And of course, feel free to comment if the mood strikes you...