The Pursuit of Happiness

It is an odd conundrum. Which is more important, happiness or self-respect? I personally oscillate between the two.

 First of all, most of what we do is in the pursuit of happiness. It is even stated in our Declaration of Independence, " [We have] unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ." As Jefferson pointed out, it is our unalienable right to search for it. Happiness is one of the biggest motivations in American society. We all want it; we divorce our husbands/wives because they cause us unhappiness, we quits jobs because we don't feel happy doing it and the list goes on. It is important to us. I believe that capitalism is based on a twisted notion of happiness: greed. That's a whole other discussion. But we all want it. Not many people like to feel depressed or sad. They become sluggish and uninspiring. The problem with happiness is that it is such a fickle emotion. I read Voltaire's "Candide" and the characters were  happy at one point in the novel and then seeped in sorrow the next. It was a whole cycle of happiness and contentment combined with sadness and depression. One of the big points of the novel was that one will never be happy always and it is better to lose yourself in work. That way, you do not feel and are unattached to your emotions. There is way more to this novel but this is a point I deduced from it. What we got to understand that happiness is never constant.

Self-respect on the other hand, is different. As Nafisi said in her analysis of Catherine's character and the novel is that self-respect does not require happiness. The thing about self-respect is that it is one of the first things to go. I have known women who get pregnant just to "snare" a man. They basically whore themselves out to accomplish a selfish deed. That's when I ask, "Where has your self-respect gone?" I really can't comprehend how a person can do such a thing as shed their self-respect for such lowly things. It really is one of the first things to go in people. More people should have self-respect because it creates a stronger character. The people of this society should take note of Washington Square. Just as Catherine wouldn't bend to her father's and suitor's wishes in the end, we too should stand up for our principles. That is part of what having self-respect is. Our principles and beliefs are what define us. When we lose site of our ideals and beliefs,  we lose ourselves and our self-respect in the process. We become lost in this busy world. That is why I believe there are so many lost souls in the world. They have no firm ideals or beliefs and when they don't have that, they have no basis for their self-respect.

I can't say for sure which is more important. One soothes our longing for companionship, to feel happy. The other gives us a reason to be proud. Self-respect gives us something to stand for, while happiness gives us something to work for. Either way, one has to ask themselves what they value more and then they will know which is more imporatant to them.