Are you
happy with your life?
For a
Finn, the answer is most likely “Joo” which means “yes.” Finland has the
happiest people on earth for the sixth year in a row, according to the 2023
World Happiness Report.
The
World Happiness Report defines “happiness” as “the degree to which individuals
evaluate the quality of their lives as a whole positively” encompassing the
following factors of measurement: economic prosperity, social support, life
expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.
FINNISH WAY
Economic
Prosperity. Finland has a high GDP per capita, low unemployment rates, and a
highly skilled labor force. It has a strong and stable economy, with a high
standard of living and a low poverty rate.
Social
Support. Finland has a strong sense of community and social cohesion. It has a
comprehensive social welfare system that provides support to its citizens,
including universal health care, free education, and generous parental leave
policies.
Life
Expectancy. Finland has a high life expectancy, with access to high-quality
health care, education, and a healthy lifestyle. It has a strong emphasis on
preventative healthcare which can give rise to a longer and healthier life.
Freedom
to Make Life Choices. Finland has a high level of individual freedom, with a
strong emphasis on personal autonomy and the ability to make choices that align
with one’s values.
Generosity.
Finland has a culture of generosity and social responsibility with a strong
tradition of volunteerism and giving back to the community which can lead to a
sense of purpose and well-being.
Perceptions
of Corruption. Finland has a low level of corruption with a strong rule of law
and a high level of government transparency. It has a strong culture of honesty
and trust, particularly in its institutions, which can bring about a sense of security and
stability.
Let’s
get the picture, up close and personal, from the point of view of Maria
Heinonen, author, journalist, and editor in her native Finland, taken from the CNN
article “Opinion: Finland’s the world happiest country. Here’s how we do it.”
“My
father was a construction worker and my mother worked in a factory. Thanks to
an exemplary education system, I was able to earn a doctorate practically for
free. My two daughters have had access to one of the world’s finest educations –
practically free of cost again. As a single mom, I can’t overstate how important
it was that I didn’t have to dig deep into my own pocket to pay for quality
education for them.
“Daycare
is subsidized for all families in Finland. Before going to school, my girls
were able to attend a wonderful, highly professional public daycare at an
extremely reasonable cost, which allowed me to work.
“Then
there is the issue of medical expenses – a huge financial hardship… One of my
daughters had a chronic skeletal disease from the time she was little, and
medical treatment lasted more than a decade… [M]y daughter’s medical expenses
were affordable and didn’t ruin our lives.
“The bulk of the expenses were taken care of by the public health system.”
PH PLIGHT: GUSTO KO HAPPY KA
Brought
into the mainstream more than a decade ago as an election campaign slogan by then
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, “Gusto Ko Happy Ka” was, for sure, inspired by the
1980s hit song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” with the following highlighted lyrics:
In
every life, we have some trouble
But
when you worry, you make it double
Don’t
worry, be happy
Ain’t got
no place to lay your head
Somebody
came and took your bed
Don’t
worry, be happy
Ain’t
got no cash, ain’t got no style
Ain’t
got no gal to make you smile
Don’t
worry, be happy.
Our local
artists, like the Apo Hiking Society, went as well with the 80s don’t-worry-be-happy
flow as portrayed in the following lyrics of their song “Awit ng Barkada”:
Nakasimangot
ka na lang palagi
Parang
ikaw lang ang nagmamay-ari
Ng
lahat ng sama ng loob
Pagmumukha
mo ay hindi maipinta
Nakalimutan
mo na bang tumawa
Eh
sumasayad na ang nguso mo sa lupa.
The
lyrics have painted a funny picture of an unhappy Pinoy face that strikingly epitomizes
the PH plight. For a Pinoy, the answer to the question “Are you happy with your
life?” is embedded in the more-than-a-decade slogan “Gusto ko, happy ka” where
the “yes” answer is just an “aspiration” (reminds me of the P20/kilo rice), a
castle in the air, rather than what it
is, a fact of life. Sad to say, such airy hope has remained an “aspiration” up
to this day.
The telltales
are out in the open such as this Inquirer headline dated September 14, 2022: “SWS:
31% of Filipinos say their quality of life worsened.” While Finland was ranked
number 1 as the happiest country in the world by The World Happiness Report, PH
was ranked number 60.
Making
the most of benchmarking – a process of identifying internal opportunities for
improvement – by measuring PH against the best in class, Finland, the following
straightforward words by Maria Heinonen are illuminating:
“Finland
has well-functioning and democratic institutions that provide their citizens
with extensive benefits and security. The citizens of our [country] TRUST OUR
INSTITUTIONS…” (Emphasis mine)
If PH
aspires in moving upwards on the ladder of The World Happiness Report, this is
a good place to start – our citizens must trust our institutions. Sad to say, however,
one recent crucial development flies in the face of such aspiration as revealed
in Jarius Bondoc’s Philstar column “Deceptive: Comelec gave receiving logs, not
transmission logs – Rio, Odoño” which I excerpt below:
“Retired
general Eliseo Rio and colonel Leonardo Odoño are upset. Comelec handed them
not the transmission logs but the reception logs of Election 2022 results.
“’Deception!’
they decried the act. Reception logs are records of what Comelec’s Transparency
Server [TS] received and then broadcast last May 9, 2022. Transmission logs are
records of what 106,174 precincts’ vote counting machines individually sent to
the TS.
“Transmission
and reception logs should match, said Rio, 78, and Odoño, 80. But they suspect
that results were fabricated to protect 20 million-plus votes within one hour
from the 7 p.m. precinct close.
“A winning trend was concocted for the president and VP to condition the public mind.”
Ma.
Ceres P. Doyo wrote in her Inquirer column “Via Crucis: SC petition with
smoking gun” on the same issue:
“How
did an avalanche of election results favoring presidential candidate Ferdinand
Marcos Jr. get transmitted in so short a time? The “witching” – to use
Halloween parlance – was 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. of May 9, 2022, but most especially
between 7 p.m. and 7:17 p.m. or thereabouts.”
“[N]ot
for the lazy of mind. Plodding through it, and the arguments and statistical
proofs presented, was indeed a via crucis for me, a via dolorosa playing out in
a national landscape.”
`While
Ms. Doyo used a via crucis metaphor in stressing the issue’s complexity, on the
other hand, I drew on a metaphysical metaphor as shown by my post-election ATABAY
article’s title “Proving Election Fraud As Tough As Proving God Exists.”
Looking
back, right after the May 2022 election, I wrote an ATABAY article “Democracy
Can Exist Only On Trust” where, amid the controversy, I cited a viral letter that
popped up and circulated on the internet with a telling message: “A Chinese IT
Expert was hired to do this which can penetrate the Transparency Server. Thus,
the 3x faster results. It cannot be traced where the results are coming from.”
The present administration may
shrug off this issue as a tough nut to crack, so complicated, that it will only
bamboozle Pinoys’ perceived lazy minds, thus, dismissing the whole fiasco. Here’s
a caveat inspired by a passage in today’s Palm Sunday Gospel:
“When
it was evening, [Jesus] reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were
eating, he said, ‘Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.'” (Mt.
26:20-21)
The “betrayal
of trust” in government service infringes the public trust in the government’s
integrity which can take, among others, this form: failure to fulfill duties. In the crucial COMELEC fiasco, it is like a termite infestation, that will slowly and
gradually undermine the public’s faith in the government, weaken its
legitimacy, and erode the foundation of democracy.
Are you happy with your life? For a Pinoy, hopefully, the answer is not "Hmph!"
Have a blessed Palm Sunday!
Head still collage photos courtesy of Adventuresdotcom, Science/HowStuffWorks, Kolkata Wire, and CTV News
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