"Why Can't We Be Happy"
I'm so full of love yet I'm sad every day
How can we keep on living this way?
Now we are in a war, people dying every day
With a little love, it'll all fade away
Can't we all be happy, the way it used to be?
Love one another and let the world be free
People are hating' more and more everyday
Understanding is gettin' slowly further away
Now what's gonna happen when it all comes to a head
There'll be no world to live in, cause we'll all be dead
So, why can't we be happy, the way it used to be?
Love one another and let the world be free
(Ike and Tina Turner Lyrics)
Album COME TOGETHER—1970
But, dear Ike and Tina, wherever you may be listening in and following the daily news of gloom, despair, and agony, you will understand why we cannot be happy. It's bad. How bad, you might say? Well, it's bad enough that the New Yorker ran a cartoon by Teresa Burns Parkhurst last week that pretty much says it all. In the cartoon, we see a corporate head of what looks like a sales team of women and men. The standing team leader says, "In light of national and world events, we've repealed our no-crying-at-your-desk policy." (April 5, 2024)
That's right. It's that bad down here (or "up here," if the case may be). According to our own United States Department of State, we are facing concerns in the following issues:
Let me explain. Consider the word, ZEITGEIST. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines zeitgeist like this: "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time." Looking further, the Webster's Third International Dictionary goes on to offer the following: "the general intellectual and moral state or the trend of culture and taste characteristic of an era." And finally, in the sense of considering small nuances in the definitions, consider how The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language adds another subtlety: "the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation." Lastly, it is worthy of note that all three dictionaries offer the description of a present moment in time as a compound of two words zeit ("time") and geist ("spirit").
Looking at zeitgeist from the vantage point of the word's derivation, we may grasp the psychological significance not only of the word, but also a deepening sense of what is happening to us and the troubled world in which we find ourselves now.
But now comes the next observation, we have cracked the door open to understand that we are beset at this time by a spirit that is out of sight, and colors not only our moods, thoughts and actions, but the way we perceive, decide, and act. Furthermore, we understand that the so-called "spirit" is what we mean by the psychological term archetype. Thus, we now bring our question of why we cannot be happy to a deeper understanding.
Since the the monumental discovery by Carl Jung of the "collective unconscious" within which reside the dynamics of human potential to think, feel, and act, we now more fully grasp what goes on in a society that influences the zeitgeist. For example, any individual may influence the mood, perceptions, and behavior of a group, a community, and even a nation. How is this possible? Alas, for good and ill, we all are connected now with our personal and collective media. What goes on in the furthest corner of our planet washes up on our phones, TVs, and news outlets. This may serve us in a very positive way, but also in many negative ways by individuals who wish to do us harm, or do not care, or selfishly act only for private gain.
And so, we come back to our first question, "Why can't we be happy?" And the most fundamental, honest answer is this: We can be. But in order to do so, we must be aware that all of us now are in one lifeboat, just one. What you do impacts me, and what I do impacts you. In other words, any selfish act I commit at any given time will possibly bring me satisfaction or good fortune or happiness in the short term. But in the long term, in our small lifeboat, what hurts you will come around and hurt me. Right?
What governs our zeitgeist on our small lifeboat? What is the spirit (archetype) of our time (zeit) together? One spirit (archetype) acts in behalf of mutual life and potential. This is the archetype of truth, freedom, beauty, and love. Of course, the spirit (archetype) of death and selfish power also resides in our psyche, and the very freedom we cherish allows us to decide what choice we may make. The old misperception still exists that there is not enough truth, freedom, beauty, and love to go around—that if I do not grab a bunch of it for myself, you will control it.
In that case, the answer now becomes clear. We cannot be happy because at least some of us are competing for the unalienable gifts offered all human beings by our Creator: truth, freedom, beauty, and love. This is our heritage. May we be granted the will and courage and wisdom to claim our inheritance.
I'm so full of love yet I'm sad every day
How can we keep on living this way?
Now we are in a war, people dying every day
With a little love, it'll all fade away
Can't we all be happy, the way it used to be?
Love one another and let the world be free
People are hating' more and more everyday
Understanding is gettin' slowly further away
Now what's gonna happen when it all comes to a head
There'll be no world to live in, cause we'll all be dead
So, why can't we be happy, the way it used to be?
Love one another and let the world be free
(Ike and Tina Turner Lyrics)
Album COME TOGETHER—1970
But, dear Ike and Tina, wherever you may be listening in and following the daily news of gloom, despair, and agony, you will understand why we cannot be happy. It's bad. How bad, you might say? Well, it's bad enough that the New Yorker ran a cartoon by Teresa Burns Parkhurst last week that pretty much says it all. In the cartoon, we see a corporate head of what looks like a sales team of women and men. The standing team leader says, "In light of national and world events, we've repealed our no-crying-at-your-desk policy." (April 5, 2024)
That's right. It's that bad down here (or "up here," if the case may be). According to our own United States Department of State, we are facing concerns in the following issues:
- Anti-Corruption and Transparency
- Arms Control and Nonproliferation
- Climate and Environment
- Combating Drugs and Crime
- Continuing Terrorism
- Cyber Issues
- Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy
- Covid-19 Recovery
- Energy
- Global Health
- Global Women's Issues
- Human Rights and Democracy
- Human Trafficking
- The Ocean and Polar Affairs
Let me explain. Consider the word, ZEITGEIST. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines zeitgeist like this: "the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time." Looking further, the Webster's Third International Dictionary goes on to offer the following: "the general intellectual and moral state or the trend of culture and taste characteristic of an era." And finally, in the sense of considering small nuances in the definitions, consider how The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language adds another subtlety: "the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation." Lastly, it is worthy of note that all three dictionaries offer the description of a present moment in time as a compound of two words zeit ("time") and geist ("spirit").
Looking at zeitgeist from the vantage point of the word's derivation, we may grasp the psychological significance not only of the word, but also a deepening sense of what is happening to us and the troubled world in which we find ourselves now.
But now comes the next observation, we have cracked the door open to understand that we are beset at this time by a spirit that is out of sight, and colors not only our moods, thoughts and actions, but the way we perceive, decide, and act. Furthermore, we understand that the so-called "spirit" is what we mean by the psychological term archetype. Thus, we now bring our question of why we cannot be happy to a deeper understanding.
Since the the monumental discovery by Carl Jung of the "collective unconscious" within which reside the dynamics of human potential to think, feel, and act, we now more fully grasp what goes on in a society that influences the zeitgeist. For example, any individual may influence the mood, perceptions, and behavior of a group, a community, and even a nation. How is this possible? Alas, for good and ill, we all are connected now with our personal and collective media. What goes on in the furthest corner of our planet washes up on our phones, TVs, and news outlets. This may serve us in a very positive way, but also in many negative ways by individuals who wish to do us harm, or do not care, or selfishly act only for private gain.
And so, we come back to our first question, "Why can't we be happy?" And the most fundamental, honest answer is this: We can be. But in order to do so, we must be aware that all of us now are in one lifeboat, just one. What you do impacts me, and what I do impacts you. In other words, any selfish act I commit at any given time will possibly bring me satisfaction or good fortune or happiness in the short term. But in the long term, in our small lifeboat, what hurts you will come around and hurt me. Right?
What governs our zeitgeist on our small lifeboat? What is the spirit (archetype) of our time (zeit) together? One spirit (archetype) acts in behalf of mutual life and potential. This is the archetype of truth, freedom, beauty, and love. Of course, the spirit (archetype) of death and selfish power also resides in our psyche, and the very freedom we cherish allows us to decide what choice we may make. The old misperception still exists that there is not enough truth, freedom, beauty, and love to go around—that if I do not grab a bunch of it for myself, you will control it.
In that case, the answer now becomes clear. We cannot be happy because at least some of us are competing for the unalienable gifts offered all human beings by our Creator: truth, freedom, beauty, and love. This is our heritage. May we be granted the will and courage and wisdom to claim our inheritance.
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