So why are the Swiss so happy? Perhaps because things there work well, Weiner says.
“The trains really do run on time; the streets are clean,” he says.
But Weiner says he believes there are other reasons why the Swiss rate high on the happiness scale.
“One is that they do vote a lot. They vote seven or eight times a year in public referendum, and they have a say in what happens. And having a say in your life is an important ingredient in happiness,” he says.
They also have a healthy attitude toward money, he adds.
“In America, we have this attitude of ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it,’ and the Swiss way is ‘If you’ve got it, hide it. Do not provoke envy in others.’ And envy, I do believe, is one of the great enemies of happiness.”
In another stop on the happiness search, Weiner visited Bhutan, where he met a man with this rather unexpected advice: To be happy, you need to set aside a few minutes a day to think about death.
“That really hit home with me, I have to say,” Weiner says. “In this country, we do not talk about death. … We will talk about anything except for death. We will talk about how much money we make, we’ll talk about our sex lives, we’ll talk about politics. We will not talk about death.”
Because they vote a lot, they are happy? Where is the proof of that statement?
We take ‘individual freedom’ in this country and make it our top priority, without thinking of the consequences. So as a result, we have programs on TV like “the Apprentice” that practice cut-throat ethics to get to a #1 spot.
This is especially seen in our churches today, too. Individual freedom trumps responsibility to God and His Word. Obedience is a “bad word”, and ‘restraint’ not far behind.
Pray for revival in this country!
wow, what an interesting article! gives one much to think about. thanks so much for posting.
Underground,
The Swiss’s decentralized cantons mean they really can change the government by voting or by giving the yea or nay to legislation. Knowing you have an actual say in how your country is run is probably pretty satisfying.
I doubt they are happy because “they vote a lot”. People obsessed with politics are usually rather unhappy.
Maybe there is a relationship though, in that they are governed well. Because if everyone has to vote on everything, you are unlikely to have radical changes imposed out of the blue by unelected judges, who issue spurious edicts to suit their whims. Much that is wrong in the U.S. has come about in this way.
Strange notion that the Swiss are exceptionally happy. I have spent much time there and more often than not find my contacts there imprisoned in a micromanaged bubble of their own making and choosing. Faith is pretty dead, and the population chafing with hypochondria and introspection. The legalized suicide clinics and the free drugs for addicts are quite symptomatic. Switzerland is a kind of Truman Show on train wheels, if you like
Switzerland is perfect. Even the wild areas look well-groomed. But this comes at a price. There are rules for everything. There are rules about when you can do your laundry, what kinds of bags you must use for trash, when you can cut your lawn, when you can bounce a ball in the streets. (I am not kidding about that one. My husband ran afoul of a Swiss policeman for playing basketball on Sunday morning.)
If you walk the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich you will see major conspicuous consumption. This may not be true of the rest of the country.