Out of Left Field: Your right to be happy

Michael Dinnocenzo
Professor Michael D'Innocenzo will be guest speaker at Emanuel

Here is a topic to ponder as we seek positivity moving away from the pandemic horror year. In my previous column, it was a pleasure to highlight radical humanitarian views by Thomas Jefferson that are too seldom recognized or acted upon.

Jefferson’s key radicalism was associated with a few words in his revision of John Locke. Jefferson referred to the “inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

As scholars have long recognized (but few in the public are aware), when Jefferson used the term “pursuit,” he was not merely talking about “seeking” happiness. Instead, as the Oxford English Dictionary for the 18th century indicates, the word “pursuit” then referred to a “practice,” e.g. a doctor was in the “pursuit of medicine,” a lawyer was in the practice (or the “pursuit of law”).

One of my favorite authors, Yuval Noah Harari, in his dazzling book, “Homo Deux,” erred in criticizing Jefferson for proposing “seeking” happiness, but not doing enough to achieve it. As I wrote previously, Jefferson left a legacy of great happiness activities and directions.

As we go forward, more of these pathways (some with limitations) will be examined and we can certainly consider the range and depth of Harari’s most impressive happiness explorations.

This could be a long journey of discoveries. But I hope you will be part of the trek so we can examine advances of individual happiness that also deepen “res publica,” or the public good.

Jefferson contended that all humans had a fundamental right to be happy and he offered pathways to life’s satisfactions. The topic of happiness is vast. Although much has been written about its quests and practices, I might need to enlist a squad of friends, scholars, analysts to illuminate key dimensions for our lives and our society. (Might you be a volunteer contributor?)

Indeed, this past week, during a regular monthly Zoomers conversation among 18 friends (mostly with past associations with the Kettering Foundation), we continued our discussions of worthy lives and good societies.

We are recapturing some of the great spirit of Benjamin Franklin, who was only in his 20s when he started his Philadelphia “Junto.” Those remarkable community gatherings continued for decades; they still offer models of pathways to happiness and “Res Publica.”

Franklin’s creative genius and his public leadership are brilliantly depicted in the marvelous book “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” by Walter Isaacson. The book is long but the learning and the take-away values are vast and often entertaining as well. Indeed, Franklin may well be one of our best exemplars for incorporating humor into rewarding lives – as my future elementary school teacher son, Zach, vividly discussed with me this week.

Part of our challenge is where and how to prioritize the effective pathways to be happy. Questions and challenging inquiries abound. Obviously, family and relationships are early shaping experiences, but they can vary in how they are experienced and in the legacies they leave.

A dramatic Long Island example comes to mind in this regard. I had the good fortune to meet Italian-American writer Mario Puzo and to read all of his books. In his emotional,
fictionalized view of his mother (called “Lucia Santa” in “The Fortunate Pilgrim”), he speaks of the embarrassments growing up in Hell’s Kitchen with illiterate immigrant relatives. Escaping eventually to Long Island but experiencing loneliness and prejudice, he eventually comes to respect the courage of his immigrant chain breakers and the ways they coped and helped him “find a dream” to a life of wider fulfillments, without severing family and community bonds. These advancements came for Puzo even as his immigrant mother warned him not to overreach (“Be happy? She averred: Just be glad you are alive!”)

I think also of my remarkable colleague, Sam Toperoff, who chose the ironic title “All the Advantages” for his growing up memoir (experiences with inner city poverty and social isolations). How Puzo and Toperoff proceeded are examples of happiness achieved despite many social and family limitations.

Still, we will want to ask: What are the key factors that show people are truly happy? (Harari’s “Homo Deux” provides many leads, but we can also recognize as with Puzo and Toperoff that individuals can advance from where they began – sometimes in the most dramatic and fulfilling ways.

Understanding components of change and progress requires close attention not only to the character and conduct of individuals but also to the society in which they are striving.

This past week my Kettering Zoomers group discussed Michael Sandel’s superb book, “The Tyranny of Merit.” Among many major themes, Sandel (also author of the brilliant “Justice”) considers strains in our polarized society. Some of them occur from people who believe that “personal responsibility” is the sole key to everyone’s life.

Where you are in every respect is a reflection of your abilities, your commitments, your discipline. Sandel is concerned that successful people may be arrogant in attributing credit only to themselves. As the Sunday New York Times pointed out, Leah Libresco Sargeant focuses on “interdependence” – how such a variety of economic, chance, education, family and other factors can affect our activities and our happiness.
For Sandel, folks who aren’t successful and happy may form resentments against the privileged “credentialed” and blame themselves alone for their shortcomings.

Community conversations in the spirit of Franklin’s Junto can give more folks a chance to take stock of their experiences and to consider pathways to “arrete” (the Greek concept of excellence and happiness).

Leah Libresco Sargeant and her Greek heritage spouse, Alexi, suggested that in our explorations we consider “Eudaimonia” – translated from Greek as “Flourishing” as well as Happiness and “Good spiritedness,” which sounds like Jefferson! Leah emphasizes that to seek ‘flourishing happiness,” it is “necessary to think about what human nature is and what will fulfill it.”

Let’s follow Long Islander Walt Whitman’s “Song of the Open Road.”

TAGGED: Mario Puzo
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