A Happy Friend $20,000 --- A Happy Party Priceless

A Happy Friend $20,000 --- A Happy Party Priceless

I have recently written about how a personal connection with real people is more important and lasting than electronic or snail mail attempts. The old standby “Politics is Personal” is something I believe in. In that vein I was talking about spreading the message of the Republican Party.

There have been some studies and books I have used in the past to show some factual credibility to that statement. David Brooks and “Gross National Happiness” come to mind.

I just saw an article, link below, that points this out anew.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081205/hl_nm/us_happiness
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In this article, Maggie Fox of Yahoo News points out scientifically how a happy friend is worth $20,000 worth of happiness. A $5,000 pay raise is worth only $5,000 towards happiness for example.

Another conclusion from the study was to my amazement that it is easier to
“catch” happiness than unhappiness. As with most things today, this conclusion is inescapable if we use our own minds and our own experiences instead of “learning” from the talking heads on TV.

After all people I know or at least most of them keep the things they like and try to get rid of what they don’t.

The percentages were around 2-1 in favor of Happiness. (15%-7%).
Recently I rang a Salvation Army Bell and some of my stereotypes of people were changed. The amount of happiness I saw in people was unrecognizable from what I saw in the News.

Putting 2 + 2 together I come up with the idea that as a Party, we need to always focus on the good that is in people and the good that they do. If as a Party we “facilitate” that good we will be ahead by 100% than if we concentrated on the bad.

We must convince some of our own that “Happiness” is not a bad thing in our country. The Declaration of Independence uses the Pursuit of Happiness as one of the three inalienable rights we have and is the justification for setting up our own new government because we weren’t getting those three rights. Our Founders must of thought of Happiness as something good.

Then we need to go out and practice what we preach. Show how our ways and programs will actually lead to more happiness for the individual than the oppositions.
I know bribes are very tempting to individuals as well as CEOs. Free handouts and services are the Dems stock in trade. But as the article by Maggie Fox points our, at best a $5,000 hand out will buy only $5,000 worth of happiness but a happy Party can be worth $20,000 times the number of people we facilitate to imbibe our message.
If we will shower individuals with $20,000 worth of happiness each, soon our Party will become valuable indeed. How can this be?

Robert Green Ingersoll

"Happiness is not a reward - it is consequence. Suffering is not a punishment - it is a result."

Hence in the Declaration we talk of the Pursuit of Happiness. We as a Party need to show the actions, policies necessary to achieve the results that define happiness.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

PS (EDIT) see this link. I think we posted at the same time. Great minds and all that. lol
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http://michiganrepublicanpartywatch.blogspot.com/2008/12/mrp-watch-endorsement.html?showComment=1228597920000#c8791675190826243919
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