Well, strictly speaking, I know for a fact that none of the people I have wished a happy new year are starving, dying of AIDS, being blown to bits, victims of civil/religious/revenge wars, or living as orphans. And I am as certain as one can ever be that none of them are child molesters, and less than half of them will be getting divorced (if only because many are already divorced, often happily so.
)
But that's because I only wish nice things for the people I know and like; everyone else can suck it.
But seriously, if there were no unhappy things to compare to, nothing could ever really be happy, could it?