How to Buy Happiness?

The road to happiness is complex and there are many forks in the road.  Studies and lectures on happiness have something important to say but a Christian does have some ground rules to follow: the pursuit of the spiritual instead of the material, not to compare with others and importance of good relationships is basic. So begins an article in the Peace Weekly by a college professor.
 
A common element of these conclusions is that you don't buy happiness in the market nor does it come with consumption. The Easterlin paradox, which deals with the relationship between income and happiness states: as income increases, happiness increases, but if income goes beyond some point, the relationship is very small. Put simply, after our basic needs are met the increase of happiness with greater consumption is minimal.
 
Can we in the search for happiness give up comparing with others, renounce material possessions and consumption? Evolutionary psychologists argue that humans are genetically structured to be happy in the context of survival and reproduction. If we are not busy with activities related to survival and reproduction, it will weaken the motivation to survive and multiply. Therefore to give up many physical conditions that contribute to survival and reproduction, such as delicious and nutritious food, a warm and comfortable home,  clothes and ornaments that will make me attractive to others will not be easy to do.
 
Consuming is not a habit to be unconditionally discarded to obtain happiness, but to manage well.  Consumption helps self-esteem, achievement, and control by helping individuals meet what they really want and to express themselves. Many studies dealing with happiness emphasize that happiness is an experience mediated through consumption. Difficult to be happy by just changing thoughts, without religious beliefs changing thoughts when cold and hungry is nearly impossible.

Consumers who are accustomed to consumer societies and market economies today believe that happiness will increase if consumers consume more. But to the contrary, excessive consumption can lead to negative emotions: regret, disappointment, and guilt. If you want to be happy, instead of giving up on consumption or changing our thinking how about changing what we consume?
 
The writer introduces us to professor Elizabeth Dunn who suggests some consumption methods. First, buy experience. One is happier when accumulating experiences such as travel or learning something new than to spend money on material goods. Second, consume what is proper for yourself, what has meaning for you? We don't purchase something because others have bought it. Third, buy time.  We need to ask ourselves how will our purchase affect the way I spend my time. If the impact of what I buy will have little impact on how I spend my time your money might be better spent. Fourth, pay first and consume later. Don't go into debt to consume. Finally, consume for others. Often when we consume for others, spend money for others, we are happier.

Transparency Is a Good

Most of us are concerned with those we know but also with those we don't.  At times, more concerned with those we don't know; we may be harmed by what people are saying and a reason many participate in the social media world network. So begins an article in the Kyeongyang magazine by a novelist.
 
The social media network has problems that emerge and is criticized but the positive values are many.  Recently some entertainers were involved in some scandalous behavior that was immediately picked up by social media. 

Internet and social media play a big role in our lives. In the past a small number of those with power were able to control public opinion, hiding or exaggerating what they wanted. The strong and wealthy could hide disadvantageous reports but now all the citizens are in the know; all are able to circulate information and even produce it. What is said can return to the sender like a boomerang and not like a simple comment but with intent to hurt like those involved with scandalous behavior that was made known to the whole world.
 
No longer is it easy to keep secrets. Sadly, we do have those who have evil intentions in the use of social media, but the positive is greater than the negative and to try to censure will be going against the spirit of the times. We need only go back a few years before the time of the internet and recall the many things hidden and lies that were spread.
 
One such case is the People's Revolutionary Party Incident in which the South Korean Government accused individuals of actions against the Anti-communism law. They were executed and a few years after the return to democracy they in a new trial were exonerated and the families compensated. The execution would never happen today with the network that we have. No longer easy to keep information locked up from the public.
 
Celebrities and government are not the only ones trying to keep bad publicity out of the public's eye. Most have the same tendency when it comes to embarrassing news. As long as what is done is not made known we are at peace. Even though the internet and social media have broken down many of the walls of society, self-admiration, still does well.  And yet when we see it in the media we applaud, laugh and envy the distorted appetites we see and make what we see popular and forget that we are putting to sleep our natural human feelings to examine and judge.
 
As with most things in life, cyberspace has both the light and dark, the good and bad. However, without observation and vigilance to think we are advancing democracy is a great mistake. We have good technology but also the emerging of wrongful functionality and one of the best examples is false news. With the growth of cyberspace, the money required, control of the system, power of a few over actions, one has to laugh when we hear, without reservation, it is helping the spread of democracy.

Religion's respect for authority leaves us also with serious problems. We have a case in a diocese where scandalous goings-on was known by a handful of Christians but for fear of tarnishing the church they kept silence and the problems continued to grow like poison mushrooms. Christians in Korea when they see corruption within the church are reluctant to bring it to the internet. But it will eventually be made known. With the appearance of corruption in the different religious bodies, many are leaving.

Frozen ice begins to melt with the coming of spring and from the bottom up and is not seen with the naked eye until spring arrives and the awakening. This is when we see the problem. We all need a mirror in which to look. The higher the person in the order of authority the bigger the mirror that needs to be used. "What can be done with a simple hoe all know that a plow will not be able to do it."

Strength in the Family Comes from Love

"You only need one point higher than your partner."
 
A priest sociology professor writing in the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times uses these words to speak about competition in our society and its price. He had just returned from mountain climbing and was in a restaurant and overheard the above words where a mother was talking to her daughter. Confused, but they were an aspect of our life in the present-day society where we incite others to  unlimited competition.
 
Despite experiencing war, hunger, dictatorship, industrialization, IMF, polarization, not only in politics but also in schools and corporations we are living in an extreme culture of competition in which we have to do better than the other and win. In this sick society, he reflects on the path of family sanctification that will save the children and teach true love.

The family-based traditional Confucian culture is rapidly weakening in the wake of materialism, individualism, and consumerism. However, the Confucian 'ambition for success' that comes from the ancestors still dominates the spirit of Koreans. The collective obsession and anxiety of the ancient scholars in their efforts to achieve high office was clearly portrayed in the most popular cable TV drama in history: Sky Castle.
 
The drama deals with the lives of four housewives living the high life in the Sky Castle area of Seoul. They are all living well and want to live better and raise their children to enter the best schools in the Nation. SKY refers to the three schools: Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei, the goal of students who desire the best.
 
One can live in a dangerous uncomfortable world provided they have received strength and understanding from family members. Desires, orientations, and attitudes of parents have a great influence on the character formation of children. If parents do not have 'inner peace' children have the danger of picking up a neurosis. It's a big price to pay for making the #1 spot when parents and children are yoked with personality dysfunctionality. When  children don't do well in their studies but get support of their parents they can grow up with great courage and joy overcoming all difficulties. Do not pray unconditionally for your child's success which may distant them from religion. Pray for their loving and peaceful life.
 
The home should be a place to nurture true human beings. We are on a lifelong pilgrimage, free to love. not tied to one's expectations, sharing one's weaknesses and accepting the weakness of others, and working together for a better world for all. This will be an essential value in the future when the fourth industrial revolution becomes more entrenched. In fact, even in today's job crisis, the final interview says that "sociability" is more important than "sexuality"or any other specification.

In her book, "Life Lessons," Kubler Ross mentions the "unconditional love" that a child receives from the parents. The baby unconsciously welcomes the existence of the parents, relies on them unconditionally, without knowing the parents' educational background, wealth and not judging their parents' appearance or personality. When a child grows up and has to fight in order to live up to the conditions and expectations of the parents, the opposition in 'attitudes' makes both the parents and child anxious and sick.

The basis of a Holy Family is love. God continues to look at each of us and our parents with mercy. As a partner with the parents, God has shared life with us in his creative work. We need to give thanks for the joy of existence before any achievement. "In our family life, we must develop the power of love. It allows us to confront all evils that threaten love" (Pope Francis).

Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The world is beginning the Fourth Industrial Revolution, continuing the Third but with big changes. A technological revolution that will alter the way we live, work and relate. A transformation which humanity has never experienced; the positive good in serious danger of great mental and physical suffering. So how do we prepare?
 
Is the Church connection with the poor in a society close or distant? A question the pastor of a parish asked his parishioners. He answers that church thresholds are high, the fourth revolution will only make it harder; reflection on the part of the church membership is necessary. For a year the parish in small group discussions, with the different age groups,  grappled with the question on how to deal with the new world that is beginning.
 
Both Catholic Weeklies reported on the parish and how they are preparing for the new revolution and the problems it will bring: gaps in workplaces, break down in intimate communication and marginalization, loss of human dignity, destruction of the environment was listed.
 
The method was to hear a talk on the subject, and in small groups according to age, discuss the subject and the presentation. The parish council president summarized the year-long discussion in this way: uncomfortableness, the breakdown of families and loneliness, job seeking problems and uncertainty,  loss of dignity, etc. Loneliness, estrangement, and poverty is where the Church can help,
 
In the future, the parish decided to continue the discussion with the different age groups and the different problems each age group will have to deal with.
 
The pastor of the parish considered the poor the ones who will suffer the most. When the emphasis is on the utility of tools the human element tends to be forgotten and the appearance of a new type of poverty. This is what society will have to face.
 
Catholicism in Korea was started by the laity, developed and maintained by them. This requires the laity to speak out loudly about the hope they have and to emphasize human dignity. Necessary to determine why uncomfortable with the instability of the workplace. All of us need to decide what is the common possession of humanity, deal with it and take concrete steps to maintain it. An example would be with our environment. Development no matter how important and helpful should not be at the expense of human dignity.
 
Young people's position in this new reality will be great. The generation gap between the young and the old needs to be decreased for the young will be the ones who will have the task to help the older generation feel comfortable in the new.  Efforts to deal with the uncertainties of the future needs a new culture which technology cannot supply. The majority felt the culture needs to be assisted, to help accept what the future brings.
 
As technology continues to develop it will be the young people who will be the ones who will adapt easily and they need to be the leaders in helping others feel comfortable with the new. Pope Francis hopes the leaders in the movement will not forget the poor. Technology has done a great deal of good but it may be unconcerned with the common good and the moral element but concerned only for wealth and economic growth. This will be one of the dangers of our new reality.

Renewal: A Gift of Poverty

The Vatican each year on Buddha's birthday sends congratulations to all the Buddhists all over the world. It's a message of greeting to work together in achieving the universal values of humankind. The Buddhist Jogye Order also lights up the Christmas tree before Christmas on their property; a beautiful sign of respect for a neighboring religion. In the Catholic Peace Weekly, a journalist reviews the changes in relationships with other religions since the Council.
 
Catholics were not as flexible from the beginning. The Second Vatican Council, which ended in 1965 made the difference. The council adopts the declaration of  'Nostra Aetate' which summarizes the position towards other religions. One passage of this document is as follows. "The Catholic Church does not reject anything that is right and holy in these religions. She looks with sincere respect upon those ways of conduct and of life, those rules and teachings which, though differing in many particulars from what she holds and sets forth, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men."

Until then, Catholicism was seen as a judging church. It did not compromise in defending doctrine and excommunicating heresy. But it is not surprising that there is truth in other religions. The document further declares: The Church, therefore, has this exhortation for her sons prudently and lovingly, through  dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions and in witness of Christian faith and life acknowledge, preserve, and promote the spiritual and moral goods found among these men as well as the values in their society and culture." This is embarrassing. Not to only recognize the values of other religions but to protect and promote them. How unprecedented.

The Second Vatican Council was the modernization of the Church, the watershed of reform and renewal. It adopted 16 documents that interpret the call of the times. From then on the Catholic Church changed. It turned into an open church that communicates with other religions and not one that monopolizes the truth. It is not a church that only teaches and condemns but a church that embraces human suffering and defects. Historians today are not hesitant to consider this Council as one of the great events in Catholic history.

Church renewal did not come until the Second Vatican Council, the church suffered pain. The first Vatican Council was held in 1869, more than 100 years ago. The ideological confrontation and confusion were severe. During the Council, the Italian troops occupied the Papal States. As a result, the Pope lost a large territory that had been ruled since the Middle Ages and became a poor church. Today's Vatican City is a land that was reestablished in 1929 under the agreement of the Vatican and the Italian government. The renewal of the Catholic Church may be a gift of poverty—the bitter experience to lose all secular territory and left to trust in the existence and essence of the Church. This urgency prompted the Second Vatican Council to convene, creating a tremendous new wind both inside and outside the church.
 
The writer reflects on Korean Buddhism on Buddha's Birthday May 12th. Remarks about neighboring religions require care and are risky but the concern is needed. The place of Buddhism in our culture and way of thinking is great. Buddhism has had members who have desired restoration which may be synonymous with the Catholic revival. In Korea, the relationship between the two seems to be healthy.
 
These words do touch a sore spot in the thinking of many Catholics, seen since the Council, and continues within the Church. Reformation is not a word that many Catholics like to hear and the reason we have many who sympathize with the SSPX  (Society of Saint Pius X) movement of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. 

Some of the modern tendencies which the archbishop opposed were ecumenism—a viewpoint which considered all religions as beneficial and valid— collegiality and the change in the liturgy of the Mass. What is essential and what is accidental to the Church will continue to be discussed; hopefully, we will be able to change the 'either/or' thinking to 'both/and' in areas of church life which are not of the essence of Catholicism.

St. Vincent of Lerins said it with great wisdom in the Divine Office for Friday of the 27th Week of Ordinary Time: "Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age."

Gender Sensitivity Check

Writing in the Catholic Weekly a member of the bishops' committee on women's issues mentions meeting a friend after Mass. The friend knew nothing about politics but seeing what was going on in the parliament made her uncomfortable.
 
During the process of passing a fast track political reform bill, the Speaker of the Assembly was condemned for an act of 'sexual harassment' for touching the cheeks of a female lawmaker who was blocking his way. Holding flowers and holding an emergency press conference the women lawmakers denounced the Speaker.
 
A person talking with a tall person may have a sense of inferiority. Saying she was willing to become an 'Old Miss' to serve her constituents can be considered sexual harassment by some. It's not always easy to determine what is sexual harassment and what is not.
 
The woman who is considered to have started South Korea’s 'MeToo' movement was a prosecutor. She was groped by a colleague at a funeral of a co-worker's father. She complained and suffered much because of her efforts to address a wrong. After the accusation in 2018 was made it was followed by accusations against politicians, celebrities, and many others in the court of law. The Catholic Church also began education programs to prevent sexual violence in each of the dioceses. This greatly enhanced the gender sensitivity of the citizens.

'MeToo' movement was preceded by female victims, but it's now a movement that reaffirms that human beings, not only women, need to be respected and treated with dignity and this is acknowledged by most of society.

In the context of the recent confrontation in the National Assembly, the writer feels the women lawmakers and their party have allowed "sexual harassment" to be used as a political tool and has little to do with gender sensitivity. This incident confuses the sense of gender and the writer's friend who was upset at what was happening is an indication that the behavior of the women lawmakers weakens the true sexual violence that we see in society.

The 'MeToo' movement is not just a small cry for justice. In the process of fighting over gender inequality, there is the danger of losing more than is gained. Victims have a desire to escape the nightmare of sexual violence. However, in our society, she gives the example of a 12-year-old girl who was subjected to physical and sexual violence by her foster father and killed. The mother was so fearful of her husband that she said nothing. There are still a lot of people who do not want to be accused of sexual assault, and the behavior of the politicians makes the lot of true sexual victims more painful to speak out.

She wants women to check what is meant by gender sensitivity. She was sad that the women were not able to say no to the political use that the men wanted to make of the incident, where the Speaker touched the cheeks of the woman lawmaker. They were pushed out in front to demonstrate. "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces" (Matthew 7,6). She wonders if she is the only one to have these words come to mind.

She is reminded again that the purpose of the 'MeToo'  movement is to create a world in which women's dignity is upheld. Women need to do what they need to do and not have political expediency motive them. Not long ago, Pope Francis also acknowledged the sexual violence in Catholicism and publicly acknowledged that Catholics are also involved in the global movement. Leaders and all members of the Catholic Church should continue to implement gender sensitivity initiatives.

Reporting on Disasters should not be Disasters

A retired journalist writing on media literacy in the Catholic Weekly mentions the word  'Giraegi'  often heard these days. Not known in the past but appears often on lips and in print.

Here is a definition from the Wikipedia dictionary: "Compound word of 'reporter' and 'garbage'. In the Republic of Korea, false facts and exaggerated inflated articles significantly reduce the level of journalism and its place in society."

This expression became a common concept after the sinking of the Sewol Ferry on April 16, 2014. Most of the media were reported to be disordered and were censured by the family of victims and citizens. Some young reporters reported on their in-house network of the 'Giraegi journalism' they experienced.
 
Criticism of the media was on their relying on government inconsistent and inaccurate reporting without verification. Taking pictures without permission and other insensitivity shown during the tragedy. This showed to many the dysfunction of the media.
 
Media outlets have again prepared rules for the reporting of disasters, but does it need more confusion and sacrifice before the rules become reality? There were many tragic accidents after the Sewol disaster, but nothing has basically improved. When there was a disaster, not many in the media monitored the disaster preparedness and critiqued the reporting.
 
In 2015 Korea was attacked by the 'Mers virus' (Middle East repiratory problem, also called camel flu) Here again much of the media was obsessed with breaking the news without observing the accuracy of the reporting. There was a lot of false reporting at the time. It was badly handled.
 
Last month we had the wild fires in Gangwon Province which caused much damage and loss of life and forcing many to evacuate their homes. Here we saw that some reported as if present and were not, and did not broadcast in sign language for the hearing impaired which is necessary for reporting disasters.
 
The principles of reporting  disasters: accuracy, rescue and saving of life procedures primary, minimization of damage, reporting on preventive information, prohibition of unethical coverage,  control and attention to area, operation of an on-site desk, restraint in unreasonable press competition, handling of  official information, verification of sources, restraint in emotional expression, careful of personal details, care for the victims, prudent in interviews with victims and young people, correction and evaluating other opinions etc.

We have still a long way to go in following these regulations. We need to educate  ourselves in media literacy and  watch how reporting is done and  be able to criticize what we see and  hear and we will   rid society of  'Giraegi'  journalism.