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Why Are You So Damn Happy?

Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bright-Sided, talks with Megan Hustad about our optimism obsession and what it has to do with the mortgage crisis, the media, and Joel Osteen’s parking spot.

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Andrew Shurtleff / AP Photo
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In June, New York magazine asked the Class of ’09 to characterize their mental outlook. Seven percent identified themselves as pessimists and 81 percent placed themselves in the optimist camp.

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