Often repeated in pop media is the slogan, “Only WE are responsible for our own happiness.” This notion is one of the greatest denials of life ever foisted on human beings. It is a symptom of the split between humans and nature, and humans from one another – a denial of the connection between ourselves and all life.

Solipsism.

There ARE things wrong with the society for which we as individuals are not solely responsible. By placing the blame on each of us for not being able to cultivate enough happiness and bootstrap-pulling in the face of these conditions, those who pretend to know best shift the responsibility from the source of the problems to those who suffer as a result of them. The poor are told their impoverished existence is “their fault.” The starving are told they are not “entitled” and are “lazy whiners.” Those who seek respite in drugs and alcohol from the harsher aspects of Western culture are told the problem is with them, and that society is just fine, thank you. Ironically, people are prescribed in record amounts medications to allow them to tolerate the “just fine.”

We ARE entitled! As unique whole/parts of the web of life, as precious citizens of all nature, deserving of its abundance, we are entitled to be and think and feel – and not be discarded as standardized human blame-units.

It is OK to be depressed. It is OK to feel anxiety. It is OK to experience incomprehensible grief. By doing so we realize our essential humanity, and are empowered to take action and bring about change: not just for ourselves, but for a society that would prefer to hold us at fault for not “being happy” when things really suck.