How do we cheer up the English?

[banzay13]

A few years ago I came across an article (around before Brexit, most likely on the BBC) where they wrote that according to polls, the majority of English people do not believe that they will live better in the future, and that the next generation will live better. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that people began to feel more unhappy. And this probably applies not only to England.
Of course, this is not the reason, the reasons were discussed above, but even if you are not living well now, you expect that your situation will improve in the future - this is a very good incentive in life.
Although it’s easier to blame Putin for everything, of course.

 

[Farm Boy]

I don't really think that this is specific to England or the English, or about Putin at all.

One effect of globalisation is an increasing gap between the rich and poor in most
countries, another effect is that wealthy people in one country tend to identify with
wealthy people in other countries more than with ordinary people in their own country.
This has created a plutocratic elite that is increasingly perceived as loyal only to itself.

Bottom up democracy where locals would choose their candidates has been widely
replaced by top down party controlled democracy where party leaders select candidates.

The plutocratic elite realised that if they control the main parties, they can disregard the masses.
Now the masses would put up with being disregarded if the ruling class delivered real benefits.
But the masses have noticed their living standards are dropping, and now peace is uncertain.

This is why the masses often vote for populists even though they don't trust the populists, often
rightly perceiving them as disgruntled or eccentric members of the elite. The thing is the populists
at least have the politeness to reflect back their concerns rather than label them as bigoted/ignorant.

Here, you can watch it as preferred replacement nominees for state positions screw around trying to figure out how to justify that the person is "living in" the state they will represent.

 

[Nick723]

U.K. Ranks Second-Worst for Mental Health in Global Survey

The United Kingdom was ranked second from bottom in a global well-being survey. It also found that wealthier countries were less happy than less wealthy countries.

www.psychologytoday.com

Well for the proportion of the population that’s not from England, calling them English isn’t going to help

 

[Birdjaguar]

There is ample evidence that both Russia and China have been making ongoing efforts to disrupt the political lives of western countries through social media and other internet resources.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

According to the World Happiness Report, the UK is the 20th most happy, which goes to show how fickle questions of mental wellbeing and surveys in general are.

 

[EgonSpengler]

According to the World Happiness Report, the UK is the 20th most happy, which goes to show how fickle questions of mental wellbeing and surveys in general are.

1. England gets drawn into a group with the United States. They'd beat us anyway, but we could make it a good drubbing, 4-0 or something. Also, one of our players would get away with an egregious foul that the referee somehow doesn't see.

Whoops, nvm.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/worlds-happiest-countries-2024-wellness/index.html

The United States drops out of the top 20
The United States (No. 23) and Germany (No. 24) dropped out of the top 20 in part because of a rise in happiness among other countries — especially Czechia (No. 18), Lithuania (No. 19) and Slovenia (No. 21). The United Kingdom was No. 20.

In the United States and Canada, happiness scores from people under 30 were dramatically lower than those from people age 60 and older. Among people under 30, the US ranked at No. 62, while for those 60 and older, it was No. 10. Canada was No. 58 among the young and No. 8 for those 60 and older.

 

[Zardnaar]

According to the World Happiness Report, the UK is the 20th most happy, which goes to show how fickle questions of mental wellbeing and surveys in general are.

It's more the top 20-30 countries flawed as they are are still better tgan the bottom 150 odd.

But because people don't tend to live on those 150 odd countries online (CFC is mostly those top 30 odd countries) people lack life experience in those other countries.

Combine with negative clickbait, declining standards of living and say the last 40 odd years of turning the pot up slowly to boil the frog......

 

[Marla_Singer]

According to the World Happiness Report, the UK is the 20th most happy, which goes to show how fickle questions of mental wellbeing and surveys in general are.

Funny how Scandinavian countries are always top 5 in those surveys. It's almost as if the thing needs to be so in order to be credible. Yet frankly anyone having been in Stockholm during winter with the sun setting at 2pm in freezing cold can cast doubts that it really makes people that happy.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Funny how Scandinavian countries are always top 5 in those surveys. It's almost as if the thing needs to be so in order to be credible. Yet frankly anyone having been in Stockholm during winter with the sun setting at 2pm in freezing cold can cast doubts that it really makes people that happy.

Maybe they take these surveys in the summer?

 

[Farm Boy]

Funny how Scandinavian countries are always top 5 in those surveys. It's almost as if the thing needs to be so in order to be credible. Yet frankly anyone having been in Stockholm during winter with the sun setting at 2pm in freezing cold can cast doubts that it really makes people that happy.

They must have a syndrome or something.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

If I had gotten a monthly stipend to go to college instead of 5 figure debt I probably would have been happier too.

 

[EvaDK]

Where is the salty licorice from again? Wherever it is, that place is not to be trusted with candy. The kitty's litter box should not smell like my confectionary tastes(I did still eat the whole bag).

Oh, I'm not putting that in the box; she does NOT like licorice haha. Scandinavians are crazy about it though, Germans too.

One of the Skarsgård brothers? Or perhaps a Noomi Rapace, if she's more their tempo. (Saw her on the subway once. She's even better-looking than I thought. )

If I could catch a Skarsgaard, I'd keep him in my cellar. Noomi too.

 

[Comrade Ceasefire]

According to the World Happiness Report, the UK is the 20th most happy, which goes to show how fickle questions of mental wellbeing and surveys in general are.

Yep. Israel was 5th in that survey.

 

[Quintillus]

Funny how Scandinavian countries are always top 5 in those surveys. It's almost as if the thing needs to be so in order to be credible. Yet frankly anyone having been in Stockholm during winter with the sun setting at 2pm in freezing cold can cast doubts that it really makes people that happy.

I used to think so too, but then I took up skiing, which I hear is also fantastic in Norway, and which can be done all winter long, thanks to artificial lighting. So my theory is all the Norwegians, and many of the Swedes and perhaps Finns are happy because they're skiing all winter, and have sunlight all summer. As well as having adequate wealth and low levels of income inequality.

The Danes? No idea how they stay happy, it seems too flat there to have much to do during the winter, although I suppose they don't get quite as few hours of daylight as their northern neighbors.

---

It's hard to say how to cheer up the English when they're both the 20th-most-happy country and, per an online poll, have the second-lowest mental well-being. Though I like Egon's plan. But if I were to move to the UK, what would I likely want more of?

- Excellent scones
- Excellent tea
- Sunshine
- Non-rainy days
- Easy travel to the Continent. Y'all built the Chunnel, but didn't join the Schengen Zone? And then left the EU? Isn't the whole point of building the Chunnel to have easy convenient holidays to France to enjoy wine, cheese, and Norman cider, with the occasional side trip to Belgium for chocolate and waffles?
- Calm, competent governance. We've set a high bar on this side of the pond for poor governance and being a laughingstock over the past decade, and yet at times the UK has managed to rival us
- Hedgerows, most likely

But not actually living in the UK, I have no idea whether these relate to the issues that are making things a bit gloomy across the pond.

 

[Verbose]

The Danes? No idea how they stay happy, it seems too flat there to have much to do during the winter, although I suppose they don't get quite as few hours of daylight as their northern neighbors.

Beer! Good beer too.

 

[Crezth]

Arrange for them to be moved out of drizzly England, I suppose.

This was already a catastrophe for the world once.

 

[EvaDK]

The Danes? No idea how they stay happy, it seems too flat there to have much to do during the winter, although I suppose they don't get quite as few hours of daylight as their northern neighbors.

It's called alcohol

Seriously though, 'happiness' is misused here as a choice of phrasing. Danes are overall content with their lives and that is what is reflected in Denmarks ranking imo. Happiness is a fleeing and momentarily feeling. It's the baseline that really matters.

 

[Plains-Cow]

Has anyone thought about throwing them a party?

 

[really]

Maybe they like the misery?

 

[Gori the Grey]

Has anyone thought about throwing them a party?

I mean . . . if that counts as a party, maybe we're starting to get an idea why the English are such a glum folk.