ForgotPassword?
Sign Up
Search this Topic:
Forum Jump
Posts: 199
Jun 18 09 6:54 PM
tandc90 wrote: We Americans have a lot of pressure on us to be "successful" in every way possible and weakness is looked down upon. I was wondering if those of you in other countries have noticed if this pressure to be happy all the time is part of your society also or just a pente thing?
Posts: 6638
Jun 19 09 12:28 AM
Musical Mantric
I was wondering if those of you in other countries have noticed if this pressure to be happy all the time is part of your society also or just a pente thing?
Posts: 1627
Jun 19 09 4:08 AM
exPc Fan
Posts: 1936
Jun 19 09 4:17 AM
Posts: 2253
Jun 19 09 6:18 AM
Grace Abounds
Posts: 12
Jun 19 09 7:09 AM
marla191792 wrote: I heard someone say recently that they believe that one reason depression may be so prevalent in American society is because people are culturally conditioned to expect everything to turn out well for them. They expect to be financially stable, to have a good job that they enjoy, to be healthy and to have healthy children, and generally to be happy. They do not expect bad things to happen, and so it hits them really hard when bad things DO happen. I haven't really thought it over much to decide whether I agree with that, but I was reminded of it when I saw your post ....
Posts: 1031
Jun 19 09 8:10 AM
notyourservant wrote: marla191792 wrote: I heard someone say recently that they believe that one reason depression may be so prevalent in American society is because people are culturally conditioned to expect everything to turn out well for them. They expect to be financially stable, to have a good job that they enjoy, to be healthy and to have healthy children, and generally to be happy. They do not expect bad things to happen, and so it hits them really hard when bad things DO happen. I haven't really thought it over much to decide whether I agree with that, but I was reminded of it when I saw your post .... There's also the binary stigma. If you're NOT happy, successful, healthy, then you're good-for-nothing. Any slight flaw and you've failed at everything. It's all-or-nothing.
Jun 19 09 8:22 AM
Jun 19 09 3:43 PM
Jun 20 09 12:25 AM
So, let me see if I understand. Neo and Lozza, you guys are saying that in your secular society there isn't a lot of societal pressure to be happy-happy-joy-joy all the time? You aren't pressured by society to appear to be happy even if you aren't?
Jun 20 09 4:19 AM
In England, if someone walks down the street smiling to themselves and a friend sees them, the friend might well appear suspicious and ask, "what are you looking so happy about?"
Posts: 5138
Jun 20 09 12:16 PM
Happy Reprobate
Jun 20 09 12:49 PM
Jun 20 09 1:59 PM
Jun 20 09 2:48 PM
That is Calvinism and the ideology of the "elect".
Posts: 277
Jun 20 09 3:51 PM
walkawayarchie wrote: That is Calvinism and the ideology of the "elect". I've read some of the writings of the Pilgrims- and they actually taught their children from an early age to be afraid that they would go to hell- to the point of almost having nightmares about it. God is not loving in that ideology- and one of their famous preachers actually condemned the Lord's Prayer and said it would take people to hell. It's also at the core of the abuse and vilification of the poor, the elevation of the rich, the ideology that America is blessed, even though America's "Riches" were stolen from the nations that were already here, and so on. Personally, I wouldn't want to be in any heaven who treated people that way. Capricious.
Jun 20 09 4:03 PM
Jun 20 09 4:22 PM
Jun 20 09 4:56 PM
Jun 20 09 5:41 PM
Share This