Americans are not a joyful lot at the moment, with only 33 percent of Americans reporting that they were very happy in a recent poll.

This is a drop from 35 percent in 2009, when the economy collapsed, causing much unhappiness in our glum land. In fact, the poll found that Americans who happen to be minorities, the disabled, or recent graduates, were especially less happy then they've been in quite some time.

“For certain groups, such as minorities, recent graduates and the disabled, they are actually sub-segments of the American population where ‘happiness’ has trended downward in the last couple years,” Regina Corso, Senior Vice President of Harris, said about their poll.

But there's hope! According to the poll, as Americans get older, they also become happier. Unless that's because older Americans amassed wealth during a much brighter economic time and are just using their money to make more money. Hmmm.

But why be so bummed out about this? Americans are generally an optimistic bunch. The survey found that 67 percent of respondents were optimistic about the future, even though prospects are pretty grim. And we're also not even as optimistic as the rest of the world, where 89 percent of citizens feel that the future will be as good or better than the present. Not being as optimistic as the rest of the world probably makes us even less happy.

Either way: Chin up, America!