The pursuit of happiness and the cultural divide
Debra Poole
PSY/220
May 25, 2014
Michelle Culmer

The pursuit of happiness and the cultural divide
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (Declaration of Independence, 1776). We have believed in this motto or creed since before these words were put down on paper and to this day we still hold the pursuit of happiness as one of our most basic and fundamental rights. Through our history we have defended our right to live our lives according to what we believe makes us happy and free. Driven by a need to live our lives according to our own plan without dictates from others in a dizzying pursuit of happiness whatever that may be for each individual. Happiness is not something that can be generalized because what makes you happy may not make your neighbor happy, so let’s take a look at the differences that exist in the pursuit of happiness.
The United States has been categorized as an individualistic society where the needs and wants of the individual are as important, if not more, than the society as a whole. This can be demonstrated by the countless competitions we as a society hold where there is only one winner, not a team. We believe as a society that hard work will be rewarded with happiness in the form of success whether in business, sports, entertainment or love. The pursuit of happiness is what I would call a generalized term because happiness comes in all forms from that success in business to the birth of your first born these are all happy moments that we pursue with vigor. We have been raised in an atmosphere where we must strive to do our very best, to be the best, to be number one, believing that this will bring us happiness. Even in team sports you have individuals who excel and are not inclined to hold back so that the rest of the team can shine. We are a competitive society with the belief that if we allow another to shine it somehow diminishes our own sense of happiness and accomplishment. We have been given every opportunity by the freedom of our society to seek out and grab hold of that which we feel will make us happy, but is the materialistic path really the way to happiness?
In contrast, the collectivistic society of Asian culture puts more emphasis on the well-being or happiness of the society as a whole to the point where they have been taught that sacrifice for the greater good is the best you can hope for in life. This is demonstrated in the Confucian style of philosophy happiness is achieved through “knowledge, benevolence, and harmony of the group” (Lu, 2005) sharing the fruits of the individual with the entire group. Taoism philosophy believes in happiness through transcendence or a calming of the mind and an acceptance of your life. To the Asian culture happiness is not gained through materialistic or hedonistic pleasures but through a harmonious state of existence. There are some Asian cultures that see hedonistic pleasures as unworthy and even shameful, it is much better to benefit the group or family than it is to benefit oneself. As I stated previously SWB can be influenced by the environment around you and this is even true about Asian-Americans for it seems the longer they have been in the United States the more “Americanized” the future generations have become accepting and adapting to the culture of the Western world.
In conclusion I believe that we are influenced by our own culture and at times by the culture that is the most dominant in our environment as to what we believe happiness and/or subjective well-being is and what we have to do to attain and maintain that happiness. Is it really something that we as Americans believe we can pursue, tackle and subdue as individuals or is it more that intangible serenity that the Asian cultures seek through wisdom, spirituality and sacrifice for the good of the group? I believe that it is more of a state of mind than it is an emotion a fragile state that can be influenced by surrounding events and emotions but never really taken away from you once you have learned the secret to achieving a sense of well-being. Though both of these philosophies contrast in what they believe is the best way to attain and maintain happiness one thing they do have in common is the belief in happiness and everyone’s ability to achieve it.

References
Baumgardner, S. R., & Crothers, M. K. (2009). Positive psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Charters of Freedom. (2014). Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov
Lu, L. (2005). In Pursuit of Happiness: the Cultural Psychological study of SWB. Chinese Journal of Psychology, 47(2), 99-112. Retrieved from http://web.ba.ntu.edu.tw/