Don’t worry, be happy

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands! If a recent online survey is accurate, the clapping in Oregon will ring woefully silent.

Mainstreet.com ran a survey based on a 2007 census, covering subjects such as nonmortgage debt, unemployment, household income and foreclosures. Oregon ranked 51st in the results (Washington D.C., was counted as a “state”). Broken down further, Oregon was 37th in debt, 49th in unemployment and 47th in foreclosures. Nebraska ranked first on the happiness index.

So what this survey is really saying is that Oregon’s economy has gone off the deep end. However, since when does money buy happiness?

Sure, being unemployed and unable to pay bills adds quite a bit to stress. As college students, we can identify with living hand-to-mouth. However, saying that our “happiness index” is dependent solely on how much cash is in our wallet is a pretty big stretch.

What about love, social interaction, psychological illness and school? Even the weather affects our happiness! I would have believed in the validity of this survey more if they had listed “rain” as a cause of unhappiness. Or all the mournful indie bands that Portland churns out.

If our happiness is indeed based on money, what does that say about us as people? About humanity? I can most certainly identify with money woes, but that definitely is not the basis for my happiness.

I can also vouch that the Midwest is not a Disneyland of happy times. The suicide rate in the Midwest is staggering. Think about how happy you would be in a town of less than 20,000 people, with plains (or cornfields) all around you, and the only entertainment is country western bars. Yeah, thought so.

Another claim within this news story was that Portland was the unhappiest city in America. Unlike the Mainstreet.com survey, this poll was based on social factors, such as suicide, depression and crime. However, the facts cited in this story were also a bit thin.

The story uses five-year-old data based on a jump in calls to suicide, drug and alcohol help lines. Does this suggest a jump in depression, drug and alcohol use, or a stronger willingness to seek out help?

Nonetheless, this was a better study, with emphasis placed on many areas of life, even including green space and cloudy days.

Maybe Portlanders just need to cheer up! An outsider once told me, “Every time I come to Portland, all I see are frowny faces.”

I’ve lived many places and I just can’t see Portland as being the worst city in the nation. What about the beautiful scenery, both of nature and the eclectic citizens? What about the dedication to keeping Portland weird? The array of entertainment choices? The beaches that are just an hour away?

Psychology students are taught to always question data—how valid is it? How reliable? Where are the gaps of information? What is the population being studied? These “surveys” are highly questionable, yet we can always use more “smiley faces.” So Portland, clap your hands!