Erykah Vann

Deby Jizi
UWRT 1102-010
February 8, 2016
Double Entry Journal
Citations: Aversion to Happiness Across Cultures pg. 267-279
Our research has shown us that many people
are averse to happiness because bad things,
such as unhappiness, suffering, and death,
tend to happen to happy people. (pg. 268)

This sentence reminds me of the saying, bad

things happen to good people. I feel
sometimes this statement is true. It always
seems like when someone has been shot and
killed, the news portrays them as a good
person who was in the wrong place at the
wrong time. I think the way people react to
bad situations in their life is what makes them
the person they are.

Happy people are also seen as being

distracted from God, (pg. 271)

I think this statement is extremely false. (I

could see how this statement could be possibly
true. Some do say that people only experience
happiness when they are experiences things of
this world and if we are concentrating on
things of this world as Christians we are being
distracted from God. ) As a proud Christian I
know that my definite happiness is found in
God. Some things on the earth do make me
happy but it is nothing compared to the
happiness I find in my Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
This statement is completely wrong. (I guess I
could see how this statement could be true. If
everything in your life is always good and
nothing bad or interesting ever happens, I
guess it could be kind of boring versus
someone who has had surprising situations
happen to them.) My life is an example of
how false this is. Yes, I have had some agony
but overall it has been a good life and I think
my life is interesting and happy even when
nothing bad is happening.

In this vein, Wilson (2008, p.7) argues that

happiness makes people bland because
interesting lives include agony and dejection,
(pg. 272)

In sum, there are individuals and cultures that

tend to be averse to expressing happiness
because they worry that their peers, or a
supernatural deity, might resent them for it,
(pg. 274)
. happiness is, in and of itself, still a
positive experience for most people and
according to most of the common conceptions
of happiness. (pg. 277)

I think that anyone has the right to express

their happiness when they are happy. In
todays society people use social media to
express when something happy happens in
their life. No one should be afraid of what
someone might say or do if they want to
express their happiness.
Happiness is something that all of the world
should be able to freely experience and be
happy. Nothing besides happy thoughts should
be associated with happiness. Possible bad
vibes and bad thoughts should never be
thought of when something good happens.