'O' Level Essay: "PEOPLE CAN ONLY BE HAPPY IF THEY FEEL THEY ARE TREATED FAIRLY. Do you agree?" |
|---|
|
Happiness is rather subjective. Some people find happiness in their daily cup of coffee, and others in a good meal, and some even claim to have never been happy before. What makes many of us unhappy, of course, is unfair treatment. Still, I feel that people are capable of being happy even if they feel they have been unfairly treated, because we know that if we cultivate certain skills and mindsets, happiness almost inevitably follows. We cannot discount the kinds of anger, bitterness and resentment that can arise if we have been the victims of unfair treatment. Even the meekest student will raise some kind of unhappy protest, for example, if he gets an examination response marked wrong when he has gotten it correct. On a deeper level, many of us feel on the receiving end of unfair treatment because we see other students from richer families being able to afford expensive private tutors while our own families can only afford cheap private tuition, or even no tuition at all. It is easy to give in to a slow-burning resentment, in this context, and lose the ability to be happy. Why does the government not tax rich people more, or make sure our perpetually overworked parents get paid more even if they work as hawkers or cleaners? Why not, even, make sure that our teachers are not so frequently overworked so that they can spend more time teaching each of us when we need it? Despite these difficulties, however, I truly believe that happiness is within reach for most people today. Even if we find ourselves in poverty in the richest country in the world, and even if we feel hard done by, we still can make it a point to try to spread happiness into the world. We can make it a point to look into the eyes of each security guard or bus driver we meet, and smile or nod to acknowledge their presence, their work, and their innate value as a human being. We can share our notes with our friends when they ask for them, and even teach them what we know, especially since our teachers tell us that teaching others is one of the most effective ways to learn. People seem to instinctively know that this path of humble selflessness is a path to happiness, which might be why most people do not hesitate to help if a stranger drops something in public. Beyond altruism, cultivating positive mindsets can also help in the bleakest of times. I do not speak of the kind of blind positive thinking that results in people denying the realities of their situation. The kind of positive mindset that I see adding towards our own happiness is the kind that might see a bad grade on an important examination as the temporary setback it actually is, and a chance to try again by learning from our mistakes; it is a positivity that comes from always seeing hope in the darkness. While we may be on the receiving end of unfair treatment, and we should feel the full brunt of the injustice that this unfairly structured world forces upon us, we must also see that every injustice in the world is a chance for us to work towards justice. In becoming workers for justice, we may find, too, that happiness becomes a treasured byproduct of our work. This may be a humbler kind of happiness in the face of feeling unfairly treated, but it is happiness, nevertheless. Happiness is attainable even when we feel unfairly treated, but I still wish that people everywhere would be more indignant about the kinds of unfair treatment that so many of us are subject to. Could we not work together to build a better world? Call me idealistic, but I really do think that the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’. (648 words) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This first appeared on Mr Kevin Seah's English tutoring website. It is reproduced with permission. |
|
YOU MAY WISH TO READ: Our 'high tech' examination cheating made it to BBC News 'O' Level Essay: "Social media brings many benefits. Discuss." |
