Can America find its way back to happiness?

“Happiness” is an uncommon word these days if you follow world news.

Natural disasters, wars, disease, and hunger grab the headlines of despair and hopelessness among millions. Looking in the opposite direction, a people’s happiness is closely linked to feelings of well-being and contentment with their life experiences.

But, can it be measured on a global scale? Yes.

The World Happiness Report is published annually by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and The Global Happiness Council, a network of demographic specialists.

Over the past decade these partnerships have labeled the importance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations for all human beings; however, this research does not end there as the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) incorporates this data into ongoing action plans that result in proposed solutions aimed at improving a nation’s level of comfort and security.

Country rankings are based on answers given by around 100,000 people in 140 countries who are asked to rate their own lives. This year’s rankings mark the second year that no English-speaking country appears among the top 10.

In fact, our United States is at 24th with Canada 25th and Britain 29th — as the USA dropped to its lowest score ever from a peak of 11th more than a decade ago.

Other English speakers fared better: New Zealand (11th), Ireland (13th), Australia (15th).

Is it possible our unhappy people are a result of our government’s internal confusion and dysfunction?

Having a Department of “War” does not help. Greeting known despots at the White House, while appearing to be best-buddies with autocrats, does not help.

Neither does choosing Middle East partners for personal gain or waging tariff wars that helped create our $40 trillion national debt.

As another side-note to our nation’s poor score, the White House recently posted a colorful (tax funded) video celebrating ICE arrest of “illegal criminals.”

It was quickly deleted after Swedish singer Zara Larsson discovered her song “Midnight Sun,” a celebration of Scandinavian summers, was the background music.

This year Finland, with a Socialist government, leads the world in happiness for a record ninth year in a row while reporting an average score of 7.764 out of 10.

Of some interest, Finland sits among her sister Nordic countries of Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway — where each is ranked among the Top 10 happy nations.

Americans, and its current government, now appear to be caught in a downward spiral that will take years to undo.

ICE, as an example, is holding thousands of people (for profit) in deportation facilities until each case is adjudicated, a break with previous rules that allowed release until a court date.

While USA citizens are concerned about inflation, Trump continues to treat the federal treasury as his personal piggy bank to rebuild the John F. Kennedy/Donald J. Trump Performing Arts Center and construct a 1,000 seat Trump Ball Room, along with a new 700 person (security) visitor screening center.

Our future le meilleur dans tout will include an Arlington National Cemetery observation tower with a 250-foot veterans “Triumphant” Golden Arch placed in the middle of Memorial Circle, Washington D.C.

Should I even mention Trump has claimed leases on three D.C. public golf courses with a $49 million plan to upgrade each? Really? With major budget cuts for Medicaid and Medicare?

Let’s pray that a rising generation of younger Americans will vote for better answers and resurrect our national motto: E pluribus unum.