Essay Assignment

Well-Being Context: ?As our readings have explained, happiness requires effort. Lyubomirsky, Nussbaum, and The Dalai Lama function to identify that human beings have a purpose - and it is not simply to exist. The U.S. Declaration of Independence states, "All men are equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" (emphasis added). Are we pursuing happiness, though, or are we waiting for it to come to us?

Task

Identify, exemplify, and explain what you believe to be the general state of well-being that exists in the U.S. today. You may use data from the last two years to make your case. Is the U.S. content to suffer without development, or are we actively attempting to "help" one another?

Requirements:

? Use three of our course readings in addition to your Blackboard journals
? Use two outside popular sources (non-academic)
? 3-5 full pages (not including a works cited)
? Standard MLA format and citations
? Use your journals, also, as research Getting Started.

Consider... Which theories on happiness or well-being can you apply to your life or to the U.S.? What about your own value system dictates behaviors that affect your well-being? What about the choices people make in the U.S. affect happiness? What events out of our control affect happiness in the U.S.? Are you and the majority of the people you know happy? (why/why not?)