The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

I’m a little obsessed with the German notion of schadenfreude. It describes a feeling of pleasure someone derives from another’s misfortune. It sounds especially unkind as a concept, but is rampant in daily life. It can be sparked by an embarrassing loss from a despised sports rival, or as a spectator of celebrity divorce, or as witness of the guy in the brand new BMW getting pulled over for failing to signal. As a logical flipside to this unfortunate trait of human nature, it seems like it’s very difficult to share in someone else’s joy without finding some flaw in it.

While I do...