178 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
178 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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Underground eXperts United
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Presents...
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[ Happiness ] [ By Chieftain ]
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____________________________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________________
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Happiness by Chieftain (zzchiefzz@bostonoffice.com)
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Everyone wants to be happy, but virtually no one is. This epidemic of
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melancholy in our world is a result of the widespread ignorance of a
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fundamental truth: every action committed by a person is intended to better
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his own position in some way; there are no selfless deeds nor, will there
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ever be. Once a man liberates himself from illusion and comprehends that he
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must do what makes him happy, he must act in a responsible way so as not to
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limit the happiness of others. The purpose of this behavior is not merely
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to avoid offending people; rather, it actually maximizes bliss since the
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happiness of others impacts greatly on one's own happiness. A responsible
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quest for genuine personal gratification is the only authentic route to
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happiness.
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Happiness is essentially what every person seeks in life; whether or
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not his actions are the proper way to achieve it is irrelevant. That a man
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cannot willingly perpetrate an action which he believes to be adverse to
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his basic happiness is an instinctual fact, a law which cannot be bypassed.
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If I murder someone, it is to save myself from being indicted of a crime or
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because the act of killing gives me some sort of pleasure; if I love
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someone, I do not love her because simply so that she is happy but because
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her pleasure brings me pleasure; if I try to prove this theory wrong, I do
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it because I am trying to gain some measure of intellectual satisfaction in
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proving it wrong, satisfaction which equals happiness. All conduct does not
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result in happiness, though, because of countless other uncontrollable
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factors, such as weather, time, age, and others' deeds.
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The actions of other people sometimes prohibit the fulfillment of
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happiness because all people are trying to be happy. Everyone works towards
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the same goal, but the means to achieve it are, without fail, different,
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and this difference creates conflicts between individuals and common
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interest groups. Some people's contentment results from seeing the
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environment being attended to appropriately, and these people's interests
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sometimes contest those who draw some sort of joy out of working (or more
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often politicians who receive "bonuses" from labor lobbyists). In turn, the
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only way to satisfy both sides is to compromise, for all parties to give
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concessions in order to bring about the greatest sense of happiness.
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In general though, it is best to let people strive to be happy
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according to their nature, for intentionally disallowing people to do so is
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the only real wrong anyone can do. Stopping a person from achieving his
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purpose is not against nature, but it is immoral because by confining the
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ability of one person to become happy, hundreds and thousands of others can
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be adversely affected. Ultimately this restrictive attitude fashions a
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world similar to the one we have today, in which the anger and resentment
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runs so deep that it may be impossible to terminate. As long as the action
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does not physically inhibit the happiness of someone else, it should be
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allowable. Assisted suicide (and suicide in general for that matter), for
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example, is outlawed in the U.S. today when it clearly should not be. While
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it is sad to see a person take his life thinking that he will be happy when
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really he will no longer be able to feel anything, it is his own body and
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in the end what he does with it should be his own decision. While his death
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may cause grief to family and friends, he cannot be faulted for this since
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they are the ones who willingly became emotionally or financially attached
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to him. His choosing to pull away should not be blamed.
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The same principle applies to those who are victims or harassment.
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There is legitimate harassment: stalking and constant verbal abuse and
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things of that nature seriously and intentionally limit freedom to pursue
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happiness. There is also false harassment, such as is felt by people upset
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at public displays of affection or occasional snide remarks. While exposure
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to these things might breed unhappiness, they are easily ignorable and do
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not seriously limit the pursuit of happiness. While I might not like or
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condone excessive public kissing and groping, I have no place telling those
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who think otherwise to not do it because I can simply not pay attention. If
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someone says something harsh to me, I can ignore them. The opinions and
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emotions of everyone are important because happiness usually cannot be
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found without a forum to express them in, and concessions must be made by
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all to allow this. Instead of looking merely at the actions, intentions
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should be closely examined before judgments are made by an individual. If I
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call someone a "bitch" and he then becomes offended, rather than
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immediately becoming defensive and insulted, he should attempt to
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understand the motives behind the statement. Even if he is unsatisfied with
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the results of the examination, the remark would not constitute harassment
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since it did not seriously limit his capacity to pursue happiness.
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Drug use is a subject with more weight and risks, and should be dealt
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with in a different matter. Yes, everyone should have the right to take a
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drug if they want to. It is, after all, a matter within one's own body. Yet
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it is not permissible to allow full scale drug use, since drugs can be
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abused, potentially halting one's ability to pursue happiness. Responsible
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use of drugs is necessary, but to ensure the safety of all who might be
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affected (including motor vehicle users and, therefore, basically any
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pedestrians or homeowners), guidelines beyond the scope of this essay would
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be indispensable, even required.
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There are things which do always seriously limit the ability for
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achieving happiness. Since they deny people the chance to pursue true
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happiness, these activities should be discontinued and appropriate
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procedures should stop their occurrence. Murder, however justified it may
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seem in one moment, is wrong. The prisoner's removal from the environment
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in which the murder happened and his placement in confined quarters such as
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prison would be necessary to ensure such an atrocious act would not happen
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ever again. He should be free to continue trying to become happy, but under
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close supervision in these quarters and hopefully learning the errors of
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his ways in limiting the happiness of others. And, killing a killer is not
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equitable. Under no circumstances except immediate self-defense should
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anyone ever kill anyone, and even though killers pose threats, they are not
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holding a proverbial knife to one's throat. Abortion falls into this
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category too because we are not only preventing a potential person from
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achieving happiness but we are ending his life before he has a chance to
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discover happiness. Although the fetus is not yet a free-thinking person,
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his ability to be able to do so in the future must be taken into
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consideration and thus be deemed as unacceptable.
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Unfortunately there are people who draw measures of rapture from
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bounding the happiness of others, and these people need to be dealt with
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directly so that the rest of the population does not have to suffer.
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Prisons seem a likely choice and are really the only outlet for punishment
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and reform. Hopefully over time, as stated earlier, the wrongdoers will
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realize the error of their ways and cease their damaging actions.
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When all we are concerned about is our own happiness though, why
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should we worry about the happiness of others? This is a valid question,
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but answered easily. When my friend is happy, am I not happy with him? When
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he is feeling low, do I not sink into sorrow with him too? Even beyond
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personal relationships: if a great number of people dislike my actions, I
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can either continue to do them, which may result in negative repercussions,
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or I can cease to do them and make amends, which might bring about relief
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and joy. A greater happiness may be achieved by avoiding harm than doing
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what is thought to be right. This is universally true also, that the moods
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and happiness of other people can impact on one's own happiness by their
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conduct. Some people do prohibit the attainment of one's goal to happiness,
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and at this juncture he must decide whether harmony or standing up for his
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principle will bring greater happiness to him. Not every such decision is
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so grave, but they always boil down to fundamentally the same question.
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The impact of other people's happiness is why loyalty is valued
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widely around the world. Devotion to a team or family, attachment to a
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benefactor or fidelity to a loved one - most of society holds these in high
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regard and questions people who do not hold them in merit. Although loyalty
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is often good and valuable it is not because it is held in high regard by
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numerous men but because it creates trust and begets further kindness and
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similar feelings, all of which usher in personal comfort. I am very loyal
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to my parents and value their opinions very highly because they have
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provided for me my entire life. If I was not as compliant with their
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wishes, they might become angry at me, citing their parenthood as enough
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justification for me to listen to them. This anger is not enough in itself;
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I must have a reason being unhappy at their anger, and that reason is love.
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I may not love them enough as I love other people, and consequently I do
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not become as happy with their happiness as I become with the happiness of
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someone else, but to an extent this is true. Love is the foundation loyalty
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is built on, and even though love can bring excruciating pain, it can bring
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unbelievable levels of exhilaration. The happiness loyalty brings should be
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followed through to the extent of the love held for the person.
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I can't escape my own quest from happiness, and neither can you. It
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follows us everywhere and there is no use hiding from it. Although we
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should be aware of this journey and conscious of our choices so that we may
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make decisions in a more direct path to our delight, exercising
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responsibility in judgment is imperative in order to maximize our positive
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experience. Only when we perfectly and intelligently choose our own path in
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life may we finally and totally be happy.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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uXu #502 Underground eXperts United 1999 uXu #502
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Call KASTLEROCK -> +1-724-527-3749
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