Happy Ending: Why So Many Americans Refuse to Prepare

As I’ve mentioned once or twice, most of the video entertainment around here involves Korean dramas, or K-dramas as they’re more commonly known.  Not only is the overall quality of writing and acting worlds better than standard American fare, there’s none of the “woke” nonsense, extremely little of the taking of the name of God in vain, and none of the casual sex and immodesty that plagues TV in this country. 

One particular K-drama that we watched as a family upset my husband and 75-year-old dad (also a K-drama fan).  The girls were a little less mad, mostly because they already had plenty of experience with Korean entertainment.  They were upset because this drama that we all loved didn’t have a happy ending.

And I got to thinking about why that was—why they were so upset that there wasn’t a happy ending.

A gripping historical drama with an astronomical production budget, Mr. Sunshine focuses on the activists fighting for Korean independence in the early 1900s.  Most critics agree that the show went far too soft on the Japanese atrocities perpetrated (and what was shown was plenty atrocious, I promise), but it also covered American involvement in the situation, history we knew nothing about.  I highly recommend this show if you’ve got a way to watch it (I believe it is still on Netflix.)

However, if you’re going to invest 24 hours of your life (I promise, it’s worth it), you might want to know what got the other family members mad.  The guy and the girl didn't end up together, though they did get married.  Spoiler alert--one of them dies.  And in American flicks, you just can't have a sad ending.  We're Americans.  We're optimists.  There is ALWAYS a happy ending.  Koreans like a happy ending too.  In fact, if you watch enough dramas, you'll eventually come across it.  They even have a word for it.  It is literally "happy ending."  I kid you not.  (Koreans actually adopt quite a bit from English.) 

But anyway, back to the ruminations on the normalcy bias that plagues us.  We are hung up on that "happy ending."  We absolutely demand it.  From the time we're small children raised on Disney, by gosh, things might get a little sketchy in the middle, but it's always got a happily ever after ending. 

Koreans, on the other hand, have had their share of recent wars, and they're still in the midst of some kind of police action.  The North Koreans are always threatening them, and while the little NorK dictator’s missiles fizzle in the ocean most of the time, he could probably hit someplace in South Korea if he tried hard enough.  And while those who lived through the Korean War are aging, many of these older people are still separated from family members on the other side of the fence.  The conflict is very much alive for them and their children.  In their culture, there's no guarantee of a happy ending.  Some of their dramas and movies, like Mr. Sunshine, have sad endings. 

But that is nowhere to be found in our pop culture.  In America, the ending is always happy.  So to look ahead and consider the possibility that there might not be a happy ending in the future is absolutely impossible.  To discuss the idea that the political corruption and moral decay that surrounds us will not somehow affect our lives very soon is to invite mockery and ridicule from coworkers and other associates.  Nobody around us gets shot or malnourished or drafted.  Just take a look at Facebook.  Everything is sunshine and roses for everyone.  Americans can have only the happy ending in their lives. 

Unfortunately, it isn’t reality.  Of course, we know that approach isn’t going to work out so well for them.  Most Americans have no food stored.  Even if they did, most can’t cook.  Even if they do know their way around a kitchen, they won’t have familiar ingredients to work with.  They don’t have a supply of essential vitamins or life-saving medications.  They not only lack clothing and footwear for extreme temperatures, they don’t even know how to survive without electricity and their electronic pacifiers. 

On the other hand, as those who can see what is coming, we prepare so that we can have that happy ending, come what may.  We prepare mentally—learning history and seeing the patterns.  Knowing what comes next in general and figuring out how it will affect us helps us hone our skills and prepare better.  We pay attention to current events (well, as much as possible-with all the fake news it can be hard to sift out the truth).  We prepare water, food and medicine, shelter, clothing, spare parts, fuel, firewood, alternative cooking methods.  We prepare spiritually, for a relationship with God may be what gets us through dealing with pain, suffering, and death of loved ones—or preparing our families for our own departure. That part of the happy ending may only come in the next life.   

The happy ending is mostly up to us—to prepare well.  The rest is up to God.

08.19.21