Forbes Magazine has come up with a survey of the happiest and saddest countries on Earth.

Take a look at the list. You might discover something I noticed immediately after scanning the list and looking at the pictures associated with the link.

http://money.msn.com/investing/happiest-and-saddest-countries-2013-1

Happy places are prosperous and peaceful. Sad places are poverty stricken and ripped apart by war.

Look at the people in the pictures and you’ll notice something else. Close your eyes and think of the stereotypical Norwegian, who lives in the happiest country on the planet. Blond and blue-eyed, yes? The rest of the 10 happiest countries are populated by people with similar stereotypical features.

Now, look at the pictures of the 10 saddest countries. Chad is the No. 1 on the sad list. Where is Chad? In Africa. It is populated by people of color, as are virtually all the countries on the saddest places list.

I’m not sure what the Forbes study is meant to prove. To my eyes, the obvious conclusion I’m drawing is that worldwide peace and prosperity need to be distributed much more evenly.

Maybe someone will come up with a list of strategies to make that a reality.