Like the people in the video [cue video of people giving reasonable but banal reasons for happiness, none of which involve the state], we want to know what you think is most important in your life and in the lives of those around you.
Is it what you earn or is it the time you spend with your family? Does the value of your house count, or is the state of the environment more important?
Use this website to tell us what matters to you.
This website will be open for your comments until 15 April, after which we will publish a summary of your responses. This will help us as we move from defining what national well-being is to the next step: looking at how we might measure it.
There you have it. You've got until April 15 to tell the government what would make you happy. Do it before someone makes the decision for you.
10 comments:
What's the point? lt'll just be like the last farce where Cleggy and Co just ignored it.
As above!
It's still worth a try posting to request the smoking ban be amended to some degree. Not posting any requests will for sure have it remain ignored. But by chance should a million posts come in asking for repeal, then at least they will have knowledge that the pressure is building against them.
I agree with the top two posts but they cannot be allowed to get away with pretending that the smoking ban is popular. It isn't.
Question: What things in life matter most to you?
Answer:
Freedom, even over and above democracy.
Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Conscience
Democracy is important in as much as it is the best guarantor of freedom.
However when they clash, Freedom is much more important.
None of the other things in the list ought to be any concern of the Government. The "Happiness Agenda" is an intrusion on freedom and should be stopped immediately.
Once the Government undertakes to make us happy, there is no part of our lives which will be free from the do-gooding prod-noses.
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Question:
Is there more to National Well-being than happiness? What else matters?
Answer:
Freedom is the most important thing.
With Freedom, people will be able to sort the rest out for themselves.
With Freedom, people will be able to subscribe to charities which aim to help with any and all of the listed items.
With Freedom, people will be able to reject the help of charities, if they do not find it helpful, in a way they cannot reject the "help" of the State.
This country is getting more like a dictatorship with about a thousand new laws being introduced every year.
We don't want all these new laws and want many annulled, including the smoking ban.
I told rthem I want the freedom to play music and smoke in the pub. Both were taken away by the last lot, and kept away by the current lot.
A special ministry will most probably be set up for this called "Ministry of Love" (George Orwell's 1984)
I had a difficult job finding the survey.
This survey is different from normal surveys - it is not 'tick box' - one is asked for one's verbal opinion.
This begs the question: 'who decides what opinion matters?'
Having said that, at least the survey gives one 3000 words. That suggests that one can elaborate a bit. Is it possible that someone is actually listening?
The questions asked were about 'the happiness of the Nation'. My own contribution was, essentially, that 'happiness' is a passing thing - what is more important is 'contentment'. Am I happy? Well...I do not really know what you mean. 'Happy' suggests to me 'here and now' - I was 'happy' an hour ago when I was in the pub and having a chat, but I became unhappy when I had to discontinue my chat to go outside for a fag. Was I content? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I may be happy from time to time, but, in general terms, I am extremely discontented.
I have put these ideas on the site. Maybe other people can express similar opinions - if they wish to.
The "pretend consultations" tag at the bottom the piece says it all.
I signed up and said my piece, but I'm sure it will be ignored, because I'm a smoker, and smokers are non-persons whose opinions don't count.
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