Come on get happy: the American pursuit

Not too long ago, I read one of the most intriguing Editor’s letters I’ve ever come across. I can’t even remember the publication, but it was most likely some women’s magazine.

Anyway, this lady editor just met a Russian bus driver. He feverishly told her that Americans are the only individuals who have the luxury to be concerned with their happiness. This notorious pursuit of happiness is of course undeniably American. It seems a triviality for other countries that are just busy trying to get by.

And this quest for happiness is often subsequently reflected throughout American entertainment. Foreign films rarely have that Hollywood happy ending that the masses crave. Traditional sitcoms present and resolve a problem in less than 30 minutes, give or take a few “to-be-continued” segments.  

These happy endings and quick resolutions have in many ways fooled Americans. While we all know that life will not always imitate art, it’s only human to hope. The renowned journalist Ellen Willis said, “My deepest impulses are optimistic; an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect.”

Will McDreamy and Meredith ever make it? Is Will Smith going to land that stockbroker job? Can Oscar the Grouch ever cheer up? Chances are slim, but hopes sure are high.

Americans aren’t joined together by a common race, religion or radio station. But there’s a drive for success – the so-called American Dream.

I, for one, am still naive, so I think I can be a great journalist someday. How much of that is stemmed from the first time I watched “Almost Famous” when I was in fifth grade? A lot.

And I’m sure there are plenty of other budding enthusiasts out there who are inspired by films and entertainment. If I were a struggling rapper, I would have been so pumped and optimistic after I saw “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” That’s because I (hopefully) would also be a much better rapper in general than Fiddy. So if he made it, why can’t I?

Nowadays, rappers are truly the best examples of the American Dream. I mean, have you heard The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”? “I never thought it could happen, this rappin’ stuff/ I was too used to packin’ gats and stuff/ Now honeys play me close like butter played toast/From the Mississippi down to the East Coast/ Condos in Queens, Indo for weeks/ Sold-out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak.”

But of course, Americans – especially rappers – are not immune to the laws of gravity. What comes up must always come down, too. Biggie was killed March 9, 1997, also the day I turned nine.

Once you reach that dream – that moment in your life you think you might have found happiness – who knows how long it will last? A day, a month, a year? Possibly more?
I wonder what Biggie would do differently if he could go back. Would he not take part in the rap game and just find a regular job in Brooklyn? Would Kurt Cobain work at a guitar shop in Seattle and Janis Joplin as a lounge singer in Texas?

I think they’d all say, “Hell no.”

And I’m not saying this because of my naievete. Frankly, life is too goddamn short to settle for mediocrity. And the hope for happiness is far better than the comfort of being average, and even worse – boring.

Americans have to survive and get by just like everyone else. You have to go through classes you hate before you get to the good stuff, and start off with lousy jobs. But if you hate your major, your job or your friends – you’re going to hate yourself, too.
Maybe you’ll never quite make it at the top, which is why you should actually surround yourself with people who care about you enough to cheer you up.      

Find what you love. Love what you do. Don’t let the haters get to you. And for the love of God, try as hard as you can to find that ounce of happiness. It’s your duty as an American, after all.