World's happiest people/Verdens lykkeligste folk

World's happiest people

Back to blogging after a long hiatus. Hope to keep it up from now on.

Just watched Detektor, a Danish TV program where the (semi-gorgeous) son of one of my colleagues, no less, investigates all manner of claims made by politicians, journalists & people who want to sell you stuff, as well as national myths, past & present. Today’s myth turns out to be true enough, but the investigation was dumb – as if the detectors were meeting actual people on the street for the first time.

So – it turns out that Danes really are the world’s happiest people when the criterian is satisfaction with one’s life. That IS the criterian, not? Most people talk about freedom but prefer security when it comes down to basics & Danes generally have both. Yes, the taxes are high & unemployment likewise, although improving gradually. The winters are long & dark (see blog Midwinter), the school & health systems not nearly as good as they try to tell us, but generally Danes have both a social safety net & a great deal of control over their own lives.  These are the 2 main aspects of feeling satisfied & by extension happy. Danes also work shorter hours than most other countries, but produce just as much because they are effective. So far very good, but …

The detectors asked people on the street & one on a bicycle – cute to see appealing host Thomas Buch Andersen sprinting after the biker with his mic arm extended – if they were happy. Come on, guys. No Dane, probably no anybody who hadn’t just won the national lottery or fallen in love, would admit that.

“Both/and” they said, a phrase even dumber than the question, meaning ‘yes & no’. Surprise. Danes – Europeans, I think – for all their cushy quotidian, love to find fault & complain. This is how things get even better, of course, get thought through & new approaches tried out, but actually admitting to happiness here & now is something no understated citizen of the semi-frozen North would ever do. They would have to find something to complain about, or at least twist their answer so the famous Danish irony came into play. (Don’t get me started …)

It didn’t puncture the myth, just proved once again that we love TV journalists because they ask the questions that immediately spring to mind but that the rest of us would not ask because they are too silly. Should we admit to feeling happy about that?

Verdens lykkeligste folk

Har lige set Detektor, hvor en kollegas søn (virkelig) undersøger alle slags påstand af journalister, politikere og folk, der vil sælge dig noget, samt nationale myter i fortid og nutid. Aftenens myte viste sig at holde stik, men undersøgelsen var dum – som om detektorerne mødte folk på gaden for allerførste gang.

Så – det viser sig at danskerne virkelig er verdens lykkeligste folk, hvis kriteriet er tilfredshed med livet. Det er kriteriet, ikke? De fleste snakker om frihed men foretrækker tryghed og danskerne for det meste har begge dele. Okay – skatten er høj og arbejdsløshed ligeså, men i forbedring. Vintrene er lange og mørke (se Midtvinter), sundheds- og skolesystemet ikke nær så gode som man vil bilde os ind, men generelt har danskerne et socialt sikkerhedsnet samt kontrol over eget liv. Danskerne arbejder færre timer end de fleste andre men producerer lige så meget fordi de er effektive. Så vidt meget godt men …

Detektorerne spurgte folk på gaden om de var lykkelige. Helt ærligt, gutter. Ingen dansker, sikkert ingen overhovedet der ikke lige havde tippet 13 eller var nyforelsket ville indrømme dét.

”Både/og” svarede de – en frase der er endnu dummere end spørgsmålet. Surprise. Danskere – europæere, tror jeg – trods deres velpolstret hverdag elsker at finde fejl og kritisere. Sådan bliver ting endnu bedre, ja, tænkt igennem og nye løsninger fundet, men at ligefrem indrømme at man er lykkelig er der ikke nogen borger fra det høje nord der ville. Eller i det mindste ville de dreje svaret så de kunne inddrage den berømte danske ironi. (Host)

Så myten blev ikke punkteret, men programmet viste endnu en gang hvorfor vi elsker journalister. De stiller det første spørgsmål, alle kommer i tanke om, men som de fleste af os ville droppe igen som for fjollet. Skulle vi indrømme at det gør os lykkelige?