Participants kiss during the 2022 Helsinki Pride parade, the biggest cultural event in Finland for celebrating human rights and diversity. In some measure, this year's parade was a way for Finns to express their feelings about President Donald Trump’s assault on equality.

For eight years running, Finland has been coronated by a United Nations agency as the happiest country in the world.

This isn’t “ha-ha” happy — it’s a reflection of widespread confidence in a social safety net that has effectively eliminated poverty as well as a high level of trust in a Finnish government committed to the rule of law. Imagine that!

The top ranking also reflects Finland’s commitment to equality, including gender and LGBT rights.

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The United States ranks 24th on the happiness scale, the lowest ranking the nation has received in the poll’s quarter-century history. It’s easy to see why — in the U.S., the social safety net is being shredded, trust in government is at rock bottom, the rule of law is being replaced by the rule of an oligarch — and........

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