The myth

Among the top ten happiest nations you might note that none espouse conservative ideology. This is telling us something because it shows us that even-handed policies that are collectivist in approach makes the most people content. Yes, there are less ridiculously wealthy people but also far less people wandering the streets homeless. Indeed, northern Europeans do in fact take a different approach.

For its part, America does not do well when one looks at number of people per capita incarcerated or living in poverty. In fact it has the worst metrics among the top industrialized nations in this regard. Therefore extolling picking yourself up by the boot straps may sound good in an advert, but it does nothing to repair a worsening situation for which neoliberal policies are largely to blame.

At its core conservatism is heartless and tells people who have fallen off the ladder to do better all within a system that is already rigged against them. Wealth in the US is largely handed down which is how a hapless and incompetent clown like Trump got his.

Canada is perhaps a gentler version of America because of our safety net which is being tested in its elasticity. But alas in the US, the myth continues to be sold to people with little to no critical thinking skills or knowledge of history to keep them both hopeful and ignorant.