Are Tea Partiers Happy Like Danes?

I would guess not, if this story is to be believed:

Denmark has the highest well-being of any country in the world, according to a recent Gallup Poll, with 72 percent of Danish people "thriving." (The worldwide median is just 21 percent.) In addition, during World War II, the country rescued almost all Jewish Danes from impending atrocities.

A kind of positive psychology underlies both accomplishments. People who trust their government and their neighbors, and who resist abuses in their society, are more likely to feel a sense of well-being in their own lives. Social psychology shows that countries with little trust are less likely to be happy. Networks of support between people and groups—what the political scientist Robert Putnam called social capital—promote people's well-being and their ability to react well to crises, from turmoil in North Africa to flooding in the U.S. and tsunamis in Japan.

Trust government? No.  Trust their neighbors? Maybe, as long as they aren't brown people.  Resist abuses in society?  Yes, if the abuses target Christians or the rich.  No, for everybody else.  I would guess they are not happy, then.  Of course, listening to them talk about the President of the United States should answer that question.  They've been pissed off since he was elected. 

I can't say too much, I get pretty angry when I listen to talk radio, or when NPR interviews some Republican douchebag who explains that tax cuts will cure cancer, help paraplegics walk and grow better corn, all while cutting the deficit and helping you lose weight.  I'm not sure how to explain all the anger from a country which has been on top of the world, but I guess it probably comes from us slowly losing our place of privilege.  The last 30 years have been rough on the working and middle classes.  I would assume that drives the anger.

I went to pay my electric bill a little while ago.  A guy went in right before me.  He was at least 55, and probably 60.  He asked the receptionist if they had a senior discount.  She said no.  He then asked if they had a veterans discount.  She said no.  Then he said, "This country needs to start honoring its veterans."  At first, that made me kind of angry.  I have felt the last few years that average people tend to go out of their way in honoring veterans, sometimes even ignoring the possibility that any servicemember ever would do anything wrong.  But I think part of that reason is that because of the all-volunteer force, most people don't have to serve, know few people who do, and won't, and it makes them feel guilty  Therefore, they go out of their way to pay lip service to veterans.  My immediate reaction was that this guy thought he deserved to have other people pay his bills because he served in the military, and while he may have a point, it rubbed me the wrong way. 

But it slowly dawned on me that it was far more likely that instead of being a new customer of the electric company who didn't know their rate structure, he was just in dire financial straits.   I had noticed on the way in that his 2001 Ford truck had a for sale sign in the window.  It was a pretty nice looking truck, but I thought the price seemed a little high for a 10 year-old truck.  If circumstances were tight enough that he was having a hard time paying his electric bill, and had to go in and ask about any senior or veterans discounts, I can imagine he would be pretty frustrated.  Nobody wants to be nearing what should be retirement age, and find himself not able to make ends meet.  After serving his country and working for 40 years, he wouldn't want to decide between having electric in a heat wave and taking his heart medication. 

I don't know what the story was for this guy, but I felt bad for him, while I was disappointed in myself for my quick judgement of him when I was in line.  Times are pretty hard for a lot of folks out there, and they don't really have too many people to turn to.  Maybe this guy was having a hard time making ends meet, maybe he's a skinflint or maybe he was paying his Medal of Honor winner father's electric bill, but I don't do anyone any good getting angry at him.  We're going to churn away in economic frustration for a while yet, and for many folks, things will get worse before they get better.  I should put more thought into how I can help people out, and less into judging them.