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Nicholas Fritts
Professor Jizi
UWRT1102-029
10 February 2016

Double Entry Journal- Aversion to Happiness

Citation: Parfitt, Matthew. Pursuing Happiness: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Place of Publication

Not Identified: Bedford Bks St Martin'S, 2016. 267-279. Print.

Source: Quote (Page# or Paragraph #)

Responses

believing people should be averse to

happiness, for the following reasons: being
happy makes it more likely that bad things
will happen to you, being happy makes you
a worse person, expressing happiness is
bad for you and others, and pursuing
happiness is bad for you and others. p.268

Where do I begin with this crap? Who

believes this stuff? I can say with complete
honesty that this is the dumbest statement I
have ever read. Any culture where you are
supposed to strive for misery is not one Im
willing go with.

Being happy makes it more likely that bad

things will happen to you. p.268

Your happiness has no control over your

future. Bad things happen. Thats how life
works. It may seem that way at the time, but
thinking that bad things will happen if you are
happy is illogical and idiotic.

some people naturally expect happiness

to be followed by unhappiness. p.269

I think this is the placebo effect at work. You

think thats what is going to happen so when
any little thing goes wrong, as things do in
life, you blow it out of proportion
subconsciously and think you were right all
along.

Being happy makes you a worse person.

p.270

I find that I am a much nicer person when I

am happy. If you talk to me in the morning
before I eat breakfast, it will likely not be a

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pleasant conversation. Right after I eat, I am

the nicest person. I see the same types of
things with others, like my roommate with his
morning coffee.

under the influence of Shiite ideology,

happiness has been associated with
shallowness, foolishness, and vulgarity.
p.271

I do not understand a religion where one must

choose between happiness and being
connected to their God. I respect their
decision to believe that, but I will not believe
that myself. Maybe there wouldnt be so much
bloodshed and destruction over there if they
found God through the happiness in life, but it
is not my place to tell anyone what to believe
or not believe.

because to be happy in proximity to the

injustice they suffer could make them weak
in the face of oppression. p.272

Yeah, because that makes a lot of sense. I

feel Im being oppressed so Im going to be
miserable too. Thats the second dumbest
thing Ive read today.

Aversion to happiness

I am not trying to pick on anyones religion. I

think people should believe whatever they
want to, but this section really got to me. It
was hard to read because my opinions and
thoughts on happiness were completely and
utterly contradicted by this article. I think most
of what the people, discussed in this section,
think was dumb. They might think the same
about me and thats okay.