It is safe to say that most Americans want to be happy. CBS News conducted a poll in 2023 to determine where Americans find happiness. It was a fascinating article that unearthed some basic truths about where Americans look for happiness.

In America, we often focus on and discuss problems. We give particular attention to why we have these problems, who is responsible for our problems, and how we can solve them. We love to play the “Blame Game.” We lament on the fact that if we had a certain person, place, or thing (fill in the blank), this would solve all our problems. We often fail to consider ourselves as a potential solution to these problems.

If you randomly asked someone on the street today if they were happy, they would probably say yes, they are generally happy. The CBS News 2023 poll suggested that most Americans are happy and have a sense of gratitude. This poll stated that roughly 55% of respondents said that they were “Fairly Happy”. The poll also measured that when people rank themselves on the happiness scale, they often think about their families, jobs, and careers.

It is natural for me to consider my family, health, and career as indicators of my happiness. I imagine that this can be said for many Americans. Contrary to social media, politics are not on the minds of many Americans (including myself) when they think about how happy they are.

Speaking for myself, when my immediate family is happy, healthy, and gainfully employed, I tend to be very happy. The CBS News poll showed that when things are going well in American families, most Americans seem very happy and/or happy with their lives.

But that happiness and sense of overall contentment can be extended to the communities in which we live.  A Pew Research survey conducted in early 2025 found that Americans often disagree on what their ideal communities should look like. This survey inquired about participants’ neighbors and neighborhoods. They asked participants whether they knew their neighbors well and generally liked the neighborhoods in which they lived.

The survey results indicated that about a quarter of U.S. adults (26%) say they know all or most of their neighbors. Another 62% know only some of them, and 12% do not know any of them. When the subject of trust was questioned, 44% of adults said they trust all or most of the people in their neighborhood. Another 46% trust some of the people in their neighborhood, while 9% trust none.

The subject of race plays very heavily in this survey, indicating that Republicans were more likely than Democrats to know and trust their neighbors, but these differences are largely related to race and ethnicity, education level, and other factors.

I live in a multicultural, politically divided, diverse neighborhood in the suburbs of Columbus. My family was the first to live on our street, and we have seen the neighborhood change slightly in terms of racial diversity, but not in neighborly trust. I know most of my neighbors on my immediate street, as well as many of those in a two-block radius. We mow our lawns weekly, take out each other’s trash cans, if necessary, walk our dogs regularly, and always make it a point to scold the older teenagers who drive down the street too fast, because many of the neighborhood kids play in the streets (basketball and biking) and sidewalks.

Our neighborhood narrative is “This is a great neighborhood, and we plan to keep it that way.” We realize that we share differences in political parties, but our primary happiness is our families and our neighborhood. The narrative warfare is not being played out on our street. We are pleased with the community that we have carefully cultivated and wish that America would blueprint our community success.

When we address the evils of systematic racism and focus our attention on rebuilding our communities, we can flip the script of political polarization that is dividing our communities. We need to stop giving our time and energy to social media that constantly churn out divisiveness and hate. The good news is here with us right now, so let us tell the story.

A 2022 Gallup poll found that 38% of American adults say they are “extremely proud” to be American, which is the lowest in Gallup’s trend, which began in 2001. It is time to reclaim the good news narrative.

Here is a thought. Americans are at their happiest states, when their families are happy, healthy, and prosperous, and our neighborhoods are safe and trusting environments. We have the power to flip the script and focus on what matters most to all of us.