"Kill them with success, bury them with a smile."
-I consider the happiness of the force behind laughter and smiling to be both a weapon and a gift:
1. A weapon against the figurative coldness, darkness, and unhappiness in life. It doesn't really matter where the evil of those things come frome. But every smile, laugh, and happy moments between people feels like a victory to me. No matter how short or simple the moments may be, good things happened and they can't be taken away by anyone. Even if there is no more laughter or smiling by those people ever again, the people had/have in that moment(s) something that they can hold inside themselves when they're not getting anything from outside. I guess I'm trying to say that no matter how little and unimportant those moments may feel, they have more power than we could ever imagine.
2. A gift because like a number of things we do for others it can hold good things for both the gifter and the giftee. Sometimes the gift is given/received by just one person. But regardless no one has a right to take that smile and laughter away. It's yours and the others involved and no else. You were given and/or gave the gift of happiness. Anyone who would take that away from any and all parties isn't violating rights. They're doing something much worse. How you respond is up to you.
"To the world, you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
-I want to demonstrate the power laughter and smiles have by way of a personal experience in high school. In high school I was morose and didn't take advantage of the happiness others tried to give me. But one day I was passing a fellow student in the hallway at school and she gave me a smile and a "hello". In that moment I felt alive, present, and someone that mattered. In that moment nothing else and in particular nobody else seemed to exist. It was just her and I sharing the power of smiles. Now the girl was very popular. But she was also incredibly smart, kind, and modest. She was someone I'd known since elementary school. Even back then she held the positive characteristics I just described. In that moment the loneliness that had been plaguing me on and off for quite awhile got a figurative kick in the ass that sent it flying out of the room. Like a bad penny it always finds a way back into the room. But the smile and the greeting I got from the girl made me feel stronger. The loneliness and moroseness always find a way back into the room. But the smiles and laughter fight back with every molecule they've got, and maybe someday I'll be the one who kicks it in the ass and out of the room.
"Be who you are and say how you feel cause those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
-Don't ever let anyone make you feel guilty for smiling or laughing, except on those occasions when you're trying to hurt someone or take pleasure in someone else's pain, etc. Aside from hurting others please keep smiling and laughing. Your godawful teeth that you do your best to keep up but your teeth don't care, your laugh that's in a pitch or loudness Uncle Dick doesn't deem acceptable, etc. aren't reasons to not to smile or laugh, or even worse to feel guilty. On the other hand if sadism or humiliation is your bag, please take your crocodile tears and sadistic humor, and shove em where the sun don't shine.
One of the more stupid things in regards to emotion I've heard is the "ugly cry". It's bad enough that in some circles merely the idea of crying is a massive social crime. But then you've got decent people beating themselves up over what's perfectly natural. It sickens and tires me. But when it comes down to it it doesn't matter your sex, why you're crying, how big the situation might be, and whether you're in the Queen's hall or an outhouse. You're a person, worthy of being treated at the very least with dignity. If other people find genuine crying unacceptable then they should feel free to travel to the nearest body of water and kick rocks. You don't owe them an explanation or an apology. You're speaking through a piece of body language everyone should understand and that indicates you are going through something. You shouldn't have to apologize because "my English isn't great", when in fact you're speaking the language just fine. I promise there are a lot of people who do understand the language, aren't "offended" by it, and want to help you if that's what you want or need. They're not (nor can they be) everywhere, all the time, but they're out there and sometimes closer than you think. And I promise that if you can make sure they understand you're going through something, they'll do as much as they can to help.
I'm male and so have never had to deal with the "always smile or people will think you're -". But I feel (right or wrong, presumptions or not) that a permasmile isn't owed to society. By anyone, anymore than clapping is owed to a jackass who "achieved" something, or laughter is owed to a crappy joke.
"If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours." -Dolly Parton
-If you please, please keep smiling and laughing in private and in public. Some of us need to borrow some of your strength, courage, and happiness. You might get some grief from certain others for expressing your perfectly "normal" feeling(s). Don't look at it as a bad thing. It's the perfect opportunity to laugh and smile a second time.
When it comes to the most beautiful things about this world I find that I can think of nothing better than people smiling and/or laughing. It's incredibly endearing and I love you all for it very much.
"When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark."