Prager University: Key to Happiness and Goodness

[DeathToChaosGods]

Does anyone else find the image at 2:40 hilarious?

[Superpizzaboi123]

@EliasJordan3 That's not what this video is about. Sure we should fight against injustices (such as the the top1% of America screwing everybody else), but we should also be aware of our blessings as well. Thankfully these protests demonstrated that we live in a DEMOCRATIC society and that we are free to voice our opinions especially against the unjust. By realizing what our blessings are, we can then create the foundation of doing good and sharing your blessings and opportunities with everyone

[robkal56]

@jpshannons Whose? Yours or his? If people had to vote between the two based upon your and his comments...

[ShishirYerramilli]

Im not sure that gratitude leads neccesarily to happiness but definitely to contentment and that is one source of happiness.However if you are contented you cease to be ambitious.Perhaps the most productive and creative people need to be unhappy or discontent in order to achieve and social or technological progress.Is there anyway to harmonize contentment and ambition?

[PlentyToHave]

@ShishirYerramilli

If you can find real gratitude than you appreciate the price of what it is you're grateful for. Knowing the possibility and the price of good things ought to make one ambitious to sustain and create them. It seems to me that a happy person is likely to be both grateful for what has been and hopeful for what could be.

[Kurtlane]

Grattitude is great, but it's not human.

Lao Tsu said, "Do good, but don't expect grattitude." He is right. You won't get any.

Dostoyevsky defined human being as "an ungrateful biped." He too is right.

It's just not in human nature.

[dylanlee135]

Beyond level of education, wealth, achievement, lies a great treasure that buries deep into our existence. That's Gratitude. Most men are blinded by what they think, they see in this world until they had forgotten the most simply way to achieve the top, that's being gratitude.

Wish you all flourish with goodness and kindness, but first, do grateful for everything!

From Dylan to you.^^

[2rumB]

is smugness a result of gratitude cause if it is Prager would have to be the most grateful person Ive ever seen. He epitomises the seemingly American approach of oversimplification of complex issues for the sake of developing an 'enlightened' opinion. If a man lives alone in the woods and relies solely on himself for survival, by Prager's definition he CANNOT POSSIBLY be happy.

[glali07]

@2rumB How many men do you know who live alone in the woods with no interaction with anyone, ever? Leave it to a liberal to bring the conversation to the opposite side of the spectrum to make his hallow and hysterical points.

[Pomiferous]

@glali07 I was thinking along the same lines.Wonder how many truely happy,solitary woods dwellers rumb has encountered.

[glali07]

@Pomiferous Like most liberals, 2rumB is a clown and beyond delusional. Someone indocrinated him along the way and he has yet to think for himself. The world is waiting for him to catch up.

[bunimonibu]

my problem with this video is that he sort of just asserts that you are happy if and only if you are grateful. although being grateful is definitely a positive thing, I can easily imagine a rich kid who feels very entitled and ungrateful, but is still happy. I can also imagine someone who is grateful for what he has, but who is nevertheless unhappy because what he has is shit.

[Pomiferous]

@bunimonibu Imaginations are indeed endless.

[nebur59]

@bunimonibu. Your logic doesn't make sense. If the rich kid is ungrateful, that means he's not happy with what he has, he wants more and that feeling doesn't end until he feels grateful.

[KELBYL]

I'm sorry to rain on your parade this is flawed.... But you can't have "happy" with out "sad" it takes one to have the other! Maybe you're living in some sort of dream happy La La Land that can not exist in a free thinking society. Nice try though.

On top of that ... What is gratefulness ? Shouldnt everyone strive to be who they want to be. Is a bank rober a victim .... or just simply happy robbing banks?

I could go on for ever... but again... good try.

[GenEmperor]

@KELBYL I agree that you can't have "happy" without "sad" but he is not saying he wants to completely eliminate sadness as that is obviously not possible. Having gratefulness does not mean not wanting to strive to be something better than what you are but it means being able to look at the bright side of the current situation one is in and appreciating whatever it may be that you have. People take a lot for granted. How can robbers be happy knowing all the consequences involved?

[stfwho]

hardly anyone stops and thinks about how miraculous just our very existence is, how incredible phenomena is that most of us take for granted, the senses, the cities, the colors, the ideas... Being grateful for it all and being happy that what exists exists is a pretty good way of looking at life

[jamesrlee]

I would think holiness. The evil people would always point to how you are wrong for lashing out against evil. Sometimes people are unhappy because of wrong, sin, evil of others. Who does God thank or show gratitude? If he doesn't show gratitude then is he evil? i think not, he is holy.

[NeutralExistence]

The most single important thing a human being can have?

Creativity, and the ability to create.

What else is more important then furthering one's species?

I certainly will take a unhappy group of mice who actually reproduce over the group of mice that cant make a single child, but are happy as can be. Especially if the unhappy group of mice create Mozart in their spare time....

Think of all the artists who's greatest work has come at times of great sadness for them, or the world.

[bernardrichards]

It seems to me that you are enamored with DP so there is nothing I can say to show you that the man is a tyro in the area of philosophy, and in the philosophy of happiness in particular. That is not the say that the man doesn't come up with eloquent points frequently or knows how to make popular entertaining lectures on philosophy and psychology. However, true philosophy is hard, and is only entertaining to other philosophers!

[bernardrichards]

Dennis Prager is wrong again! Actually wisdom as opposed to knowledge is the key to happiness. The character trait of gratitude is part of being wise. "Happy is the man who finds wisdom..." (Book of Proverbs 3:13)

[itreeye]

@bernardrichards

"Dennis Prager is wrong again! ...The character trait of gratitude is part of being wise."

That sounds right but I'm not sure how it means Dennis is wrong? It isn't as if he's advocating any lack of wisdom;rather saying that it is unwise to base one's attitude to life around an identity constructed from a recognition of degrees of your own victim-hood; just or not. The less I dwell on how I've been wronged the more I'm enabled to see & so b thankful for good stuff in life

[bernardrichards]

@itreeye

He is wrong in the sense of the Study or Philosophy of Happiness. Gratitude is not the key of happiness, but wisdom is. This is what the Torah or Hebrew Bible states, and logic will show. Google "The Happiness Show" for an edificatiton of the Philosophy of Happiness.

[itreeye]

@bernardrichards

No I understand and agree with you that wisdom is the key to happiness, but just as being happy in spite of being a victim of life's sadness and pain is wise. I mean DP and you seem to being saying the same thing but from different angles. This doesn't make him wrong necessarily.

[bernardrichards]

@itreeye

DP and I are not "saying the same thing but from different angles." Just think about it. One who is physically assaulted or emotionally abused or contracts a painful illness will not be in a state of gratitude, and hence unhappy according to DP. However, one who has acquired wisdom (also known as virtue or moral perfection) will still find ground to be in a state of happiness even under highly adverse conditions.

[itreeye]

@bernardrichards

I still can't agree that he's wrong as he's a behaviorist on happiness, or, insists that one should act happy even if not feeling it. Also the behavior can cause real feelings of happiness, gratefulness, etc. as a result of free-will. To choose to act happy is to force one's self to see good things when otherwise one would not care to. So one becomes wise by acting on faith or even when one can't 'see' happiness. Fear of God (putting Him first) is the beginning of wisdom.

[RayGroot]

The reason why people are "entitled" to something is because you cannot legally ensure something through gratitude, they are therefor 2 separate themes.

A quick and easy example; We in developed countries should all be grateful for the chance to experience an education of a certain standard.

However, to legally ensure EVERYONE gets this education and not a selection, law states that a person is "Entitled" to a certain degree of education.

Anyone with an education should treasure entitlement.

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

"However, to legally ensure EVERYONE gets this education .... Anyone with an education should treasure entitlement."

BTW Education has gone to pot since it became the centralized State's place to ensure everyone gets an education. This seems to be more a parental issue and community concern. Parents who are neglectful should be dealt w/ by law of that community just as they are w/ all kinds of neglect. You should see DP's American Trinity vid re egalitarianism squashing liberty

[RayGroot]

@itreeye I am unsure what the point is you are trying to make, are you saying Education shouldn't be a task of government but of parents and the small community - education is bad due to egalitarianism? If this is what you're saying I have 2 comments, firstly I am not a US citizen so my comment is generalized towards Europe + the US (I've enjoyed education in both regions) I've browsed for that Vid you mentioned but didn't find the right one yet I think.

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

"are you saying Education shouldn't be a task of government but of parents and the small community - education is bad due to egalitarianism?"

Quickly saying that the State trying to force equality of result for all (egalitarianism) ends up with watered down (or worse) results for all. Yet the more local & more direct relationship w/ those concerned the more accountability to them w/ real people care results in more success overall.

"the bigger the gov the smaller the citizen" DP

[RayGroot]

@itreeye I think we more or less have a similar opinion regarding education. I agree that the government cant educate children, their parents and direct environment should, but a government can provide everyone with the tools to do so. They can make sure that even though NY might be a higher populated state, with a higher overall wealth, the same basic instruments for education are present in both Wisconsin as NY state - parents are responsible (legally as well) for putting these tools to use.

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

I don't think it is the central government's place to make sure that Wisconsin has as big a science room as an average school in NY, for example. Again, whenever the State tries macro compassion for the sake of equality of result (not birth) it ends up causing cruelty in the micro. the Left has utterly failed in the 20th century. The extreme example is the 200 million dead people via secular leftist governments & bad, egalitarian or Marxist ideas.

[RayGroot]

@itreeye To clarify this is a 2nd message: and as to reflect upon egalitarianism, I think its a bit of an overstatement when used with education, because an educated person in itself is generally worth nothing, it is personal appliance of the blueprint handed to them through education that makes a person what he is worth. So granted a neutral starting point, I think this gives everyone the chance to excel and provides competition to those who would either way: competition leads to improvement.

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

"it is personal appliance of the blueprint handed to them through education that makes a person what he is worth."

I think I agree w/ what you're saying, but the trouble is that the State run school system in the US not only doesn't teach critical thinking, they often discourage it. John Dewey, a founder of government education said (I'm paraphrasing) "You don't want to teach Johnie how to think, because then you can't govern Johnnie" The Left is all about control 4 equal's sake.

[onemanarmy34]

A ferrari is what im entitled too!

[shahafsagi]

I don't get it... every video i see from this guy, people are majorally influenced by what he says, every single quote...it's amazing. Oh i love this video and all of his videos, but god, people, think for yourselves and stop being influenced by non-resourceful truth

[RayGroot]

@shahafsagi I completely agree, he is good at making short informational videos that carry a decent sense of conviction, which made me subscribe after having seen his first video about the middle East problem, but after seeing many other videos from him, of topics I have the information and knowledge to counter him on his wisdom, hes beginning to look more and more like just another person with an opinion. It scares me how few people open up to individual critical thinking, thats youtube,

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

"I have the information and knowledge to counter him on his wisdom, hes beginning to look more and more like just another person with an opinion."

Your statement seems to suggest that Dennis isn't as wise as you thought because his opinions are incorrect (ie. you have facts to counter his guess) But I think wisdom would include making the best of what knowledge you do have, and being honest about where these facts lead even if against where you wish them to go. He seems honest?

[RayGroot]

@itreeye You can be honest, have a valid opinion, and disagree with someone without being right or wrong - hence opinion. I've never revered Dennis as a source of wisdom, but I do believe he makes videos that provide interesting insight and valid facts. However, Dennis is good at presenting facts in a certain light, probably supporting his personal conviction of the matter, and portraying his opinion on those willing to accept it. Imho a key factor for wisdom is using facts to think for yourself

[itreeye]

@RayGroot

"However, Dennis is good at presenting facts in a certain light, probably supporting his personal conviction of the matter"

That's true, but he's basing his opined convictions on a construct which includes multiple support beams of facts coming from many places. If he shares one fact from one direction, and then his opinion and you're not aware of other supporting facts coming from other directions, he could *seem* misguided. It must be so hard to be in his role as a teacher...

[sombranegra23]

Bravo! you are so right.. Three unhappy people don't like this.

[Idontgive]

i agree with most of your videos, but i dont understand how you can say that we should have low expectations from society regardless of the extent? what if someone really is a victim of society? if a government has wronged him, his parents mistreated him, or his friends behaved unfairly towards him? (or her)

should he/she pretend its within his/her expectations to be treated this way, just so he will be surprised badly? so you say we should be unhappy until we have a reason to be happy?

[itreeye]

@Idontgive

"how you can say that we should have low expectations from society regardless of the extent?"

I wonder if it is that we should have low expectations of State power compared to high expectations or standards for each other, or local community ie. w/ those in some direct relationship w/ us? The more people rely on an amorphous centralized State to use laws to control people, this seems to diminish local dependence or having high expectations of each other's behavior. I don't know.

[itreeye]

@Idontgive

"what if someone really is a victim of society? if a government has wronged him, his parents mistreated him, or his friends behaved unfairly towards him? (or her) should he/she pretend its within his/her expectations to be treated this way, just so he will be surprised badly?"

It is people expecting to be treated wonderfully that end up so disappointed. Be happy by finding thanks for those that are decent, as if not owed? I'm more happy for an unexpected gift than one I'm owed?

[itreeye]

@Idontgive

"what if someone really is a victim of society? if a government has wronged him, his parents mistreated him, or his friends behaved unfairly towards him? (or her) should he/she pretend its within his/her expectations to be treated this way, just so he will be surprised badly?"

It is people expecting to be treated wonderfully that end up so disappointed. Be happy by finding thanks for those that are decent; as if not owed? I'm more happy for an unexpected gift than one I'm owed...

[SmithsnMoz]

Wow.. People actually have a PROBLEM with Dennis.. Probably the wisest man I know.. And there are some pretty lousy people that choose to shoot him down.. .. must be very ungrateful people!! I'm GLAD I dont know them!!

[Txsray]

NeoCon BS.

[bke274]

I once defined contentment as the state of being in which one ceases to complain about what he doesn't have and becomes thankful for that which he does have.

[heartless567]

I agree with this completely. When I was a school librarian, I was so grateful to be there on a daily basis I actually could SEE the happiness and goodness I was creating the more grateful I felt. Additionally, though, I don't agree that entitlements create ingratitude. When I needed a break during my divorce for my son's health care, I got it for $7 a month because of (shudder) the Clinton program. Universal health care, as well as my country's borders protected, makes me feel grateful.

[evolvethroughlove]

I think it's a mistake to bind feelings of entitlement with 'entitlement' programs....health care is a basic human need...I'm receiving help during this down time with health care....and I am truly grateful. Bringing politics to his lecture takes away from the point he is trying to make...which is a good one. Gratitude bound with compassion would truly make the world a better place.

[ntheg]

The Mishna in "Chapters of our fathers" stated, 3000 years ago:

איזהו עשיר? השמח בחלקו

"Who is a rich man? One who is happy with his part"

[monkeygirlmom]

Amazing and true on all point :) I am grateful!!!!!

[howser12]

I like Prager. I have been listening to him since I was 17 years old. I am now 28 and I am sad that I will never have the chance to have a relationship with him. I wish he were my next door neighbor or my uncle.

[lovellespice]

@howser12 Unless you live in an antiseptic bubble and can't go out because the air will kill you, there's no reason why you can't meet him and establish a friendship.

[howser12]

@lovellespice I actually do live in a bubble- yes a literal bubble- like bubble boy on Seinfeld. If I go outside the sunlight will cause a reaction on my skin that will make it dissolve so I have to live inside of a UV Polarized bubble.. That being the case, I don't think I'll ever meet him. So sad!

[lovellespice]

@howser12 Maybe we can get him to come to your house =) post a pic of yourself on youtube

[juststopandthink]

The clam that this pearl of wisdom came from was the size of a house.

God Bless Prager!

[7DEEZ]

You're spot-on, as always! :-)

[squidvaulter9]

this is sooo true :) more young people should listen to this

[ShdwftheSuN]

Rich people love it when the the poor peasants are "grateful" for all the shit they are cheated out of in life...

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN And the peasants are grateful when the powerful do a good job at running the country, reward people well who work hard, and properly punish miscreants.

This is why I'd rather go with the Japanese view, and say that I'd rather people be more responsible rather than more "grateful". Although being polite, even to enemies, is also a nice idea too.

[ShdwftheSuN]

@DrCruel Haha, I'm sure that they WOULD be grateful if any of that were true in America. Unfortunately, our government is broken and corrupt, working hard is hardly a guarantee of greater rewards in life, and the real miscreants--like war criminals or corporate executives with no respect for the law--are never brought to justice.

The way I see it, gratitude is fine for the good things in our lives, but we must never be so satisfied with our current situation that we do not strive to do better.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN Don't omit the rest - a liberal, Left-leaning elite that demonizes business and ridicules middle class complaints about high taxes while championing criminality, an ever growing federal bureaucracy that absorbs more and more of the national economy, a series of guilded, unionized factions (AMA, ABA, AFT) that demands increasingly higher wages for substandard work ...

Like I said. Keep your gratitude. I want a sense of responsibility from my fellow citizens.

[ShdwftheSuN]

@DrCruel Don't say that like conservatives are any better. The bottom line is that practically everyone in government is bought and paid for, and caters to special interests instead of the people.

The true root of the problem is a lack of accountability. I agree that a greater sense of responsibility is needed, but such a thing cannot be engendered among citizens or those in power if this crucial element is missing from our society.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN When you carefully omitted one side in your diatribe, that is exactly what you dido.

The problem with accountability is that it requires governmental efforts to enforce. I would prefer a sense of responsibility, which is much cheaper and easier to deal with.

If a sense of responsibility is absent, a nation is inevitably doomed in any event - regardless of how many police are hired, or how draconian the laws become. The old ex-Soviet Union is a prime example.

[ShdwftheSuN]

@DrCruel I didn't "carefully omit" anything, but through my wording simply implied that war criminals and many corporate executives are the worst kind of miscreants in America. There wasn't enough space to include all the rest in my comment...

Anyways, I believe it is against conventional human nature to act responsibly. Most people need a reason to do so, and usually it is because of legal, social, or after-death repercussions. Only the first kind requires government, so your point is moot.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN Perhaps "war criminals" in the sense of people who were, say, worked to aid the Ba'athist regime in Iraq against their own countrymen. As for corporate executives, they are responsible for the premier position of the US in the world economy. The Marxists who despise capital enterprise for the sake of their blood soaked ideology are the true "miscreants".

In regards responsible behavior, it is a rational decision. Since I am not a collectivist, I have respect for personal choice.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN (I will remind, that what I mean by "responsibility" cannot be enforced by legal, social or after-death repercussions. It is drawn from a regard for others, and the effects that one's actions have on others.

I claimed that government enforces accountability, not responsibility. That sense of responsibility, that "bourgeois mentality", is how a nation prospers. Absent this sense amongst the people, a nation inevitably withers, regardless of what sort of government is in charge.)

[ShdwftheSuN]

@DrCruel I meant war criminals as in, the people who call the shots for us to kill or torture innocent people all around the world. I meant corporate executives as in, the people so obsessed by greed that profit is all that matters to them--those whose indifference to the world around them leads to environmental or economic disaster.

On responsibility, it is only rational if the checks I mentioned are set in place. Without law, social backlash, or a hell to encourage it, it won't exist.

[ShdwftheSuN]

To expect all individuals to have great upbringings, where they're taught the golden rule and it sticks, against all odds (and by that I mean in the absence the aforementioned accountability measures) is pure fantasy as it will never happen.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN I expect nothing from "all individuals". The question is what the most important quality to human life is. Prager chooses "gratitude". I choose "responsibility". And, regardless what everyone else is doing, I can still choose to act with a sense of responsibility.

Perhaps there will never be a time when everyone acts responsibly. But if no one does, civilization will not survive. Make of that what you will.

[DrCruel]

@ShdwftheSuN That is to say, our elected officials and the sort of people who sell us orange juice, bubble gumand toothpaste. Stated simply, I do not agree that people such as these are "war criminals" - rather, tehy are traditional opponents of such peole (such as Marxists, who killed more people in the 20th century than any other group).

Responsibility is a conscious choice by an individual. I am not a collectivist. Even if chaos reigns, one can still choose to behave responsibly.

[tomluque]

Pearl of wisdom

[jesusofbaghdad]

Speaking as an atheist, I can say that while in my experience religious people tend to be more grateful (and therefore happier), this is not a religious message. I've taken it to heart over the past decade or so (thank you, Dennis), and I've become a happier person through gratitude. It does take a little work but over time, keeping the idea in the back of your mind, it sinks in and it will make you happier. Words of wisdom that I share whenever I can.

[setmedic]

Be grateful your mother did it with your father. Be grateful you weren't born in a ghetto or third world country. Don't be grateful to an invisible being someone told you watches you from the sky and is judging you. Compulsory love is very creepy. Time to grow up Dennis, and stop lying too children...

[AnarchyRules17]

@setmedic he didn't even mention god once in this entire video. grow a pair dude. he says "just be grateful about everything. take nothing for granted. and you will be happier and kinder." and you think "OMG HE'S A CHRISTIAN FREAK LYING TO CHILDREN AND SHOVING HIS BELIEFS DOWN MY THROAT!!!!!" whether or not their is a god, if you are grateful for everything you have you will be a better, happier person. you are proof that some atheists are more close-minded than the religious right.

[setmedic]

@AnarchyRules17 And by the way, Prager is a Jew...

[AnarchyRules17]

@setmedic ..........ok go ahead and ignore everything i said because i thought he worshiped a god with a different name.

[MrCommiehater]

@AnarchyRules17 first of all, he is jewish, secondly he talks about religion all the time.

[yah667]

THANK GOD FOR THE WORD'S OF WISDOM

[Itcanbedone1]

Attitude and Gratitude. That's what your father taught us too!! Great message!!

[parisprada777]

nice,Dennis!

[cavetrollhead]

Spot on!

[crosenblum]

I love this video...already motivating me to be more grateful.

[victoryco]

I am grateful for this message on this video!

[dirkthevent]

Dennis .. Thank you for this !

[fearsveil]

LOVE his happiness hour! Such a brilliant man.

[ThaEther]

So TRUE with the entitled thing! O.o :O

[BWGgy]

That's my problem

[lrudd85242]

In the Book of Romans, Paul describes the root sin of mankind as our being ungrateful to God for creation. This makes Dennis' insight even more profound.

[JavaClick]

@lrudd85242 Reference ch & v please?

[Marysunshine100]

Thanks to Ricky Powell for putting a link to this video in his ezine for I Choose Happiness -- I choose an attitude of gratitude and am grateful to Dennis Prager for reinforcing my choice!

[fellowservant34]

Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

[peckaloomer]

I'm grateful for Dennis Prager!

[rusty2029]

Yes Sir!

An attitude of gratitude.

[TheAtheistAntidote]

Love the Prager!

[TruthCeeker333]

Ditto that :)

[Marlowann]

I am grateful for Mr. Prager.

[KeeKo432]

Excellent, Dennis. Thank you!

[KonradAdenauerJr]

Mr. Prager's point about the human vice of ingratitude is almost the same that my late great-grandfather made in his memoirs. Their insights are so similar, despite being separated by generations, thousnads of miles, and very different educational levels.

[nicholaspellegrino5]

Is there a more articulate person in the United States than Dennis Prager? If so, I haven't heard him/her.

[Twizzleful]

Nor have I!

[homertalk]

This is a perfect example of how education should be delivered and an example of good value. Universities will eventually fail when their true value is exposed.

If your spending 30k on your kids Liberal arts education, think again.

[jembob1234]

Thank you Dennis.

I hope your trip to Africa went well?

[shedininja001]

good points

[truthsabre7]

Thank you.