In the world of day-time talk shows, and self indulgent magazine articles that seek to make us all much better people, the word "anger" is a dirty word. The emotion itself is one to be spurned and rejected. We have been told over a generation or more that anger and resentment are poisonous ingredients of twisted people. We have been conditioned to give ourselves pause when we feel this hideous side rise up within us. We are told to let the feeling pass or we can become consumed by dark impulses. Whole industries have sprung up to help us cope with or manage anger.
On most levels of personal interaction I too believe that sustained anger seldom leads to great outcomes. The problem with anger is that it can (but not always) erode our ability to think straight. It can come in the form of pure emotion that robs us of our rational side. It can even have a violent outcome- most often the violence of anger is played out against those closest to us. Unchecked anger is dangerous-scary- and harmful. However, I would argue that there is a place for anger. Anger in, and of, itself can also be a useful thing. The trick is let anger be one of the emotions that drive and motivate us to action. Malcolm X said, "Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change".
Throughout history the use of anger on a cultural scale has been the catalyst of change. Forgive my ignorance of far eastern history, but I can cite great change movements in western history that were surely the result of anger. Anger over injustice is typically at the root of change. Throughout history, those who have too much find themselves eventually brought down by the the masses who harness anger over injustice and force change. Rome was destroyed by the people of the provinces who tired of paying tribute to the ruling class and the emperors. Rebellion and loss of control finally ate away at the Roman empire till it was no longer there. The great monarchies of Europe fell to revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries when the poor rose up against them and the caste system. The best example was the French Revolution. The once powerful monarchy of Russia fell to the Communists in the 20th century-who in turn fell, when the USSR went broke in Afghanistan and couldn't feed her people. It wasn't Ronald Reagan's finger wagging that brought down the Soviets- it was economic injustice and the will of the people-as it was in Poland and Romania.
It was anger from those who were the have-nots that created change. You might argue that these examples only depict violent change. But there are many examples of anger fueling non-violent change as well. Gandhi never argued for passive resistance. He was passionate in his insistence for Indian Independence from Great Briton. He used anger, and incited anger in his enemies to move his country towards freedom. He just insisted it be non-violent. History tells us Martin Luther King Jr. felt anger over the lack of civil rights for African Americans in his lifetime. He followed the example of Gandhi- but his hatred of injustice and racism was evident. King himself said, "the supreme task is organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force".
Today we are finally seeing the result of anger move our people towards much needed change. Until the "Occupy Wall St." movement began I feared that all those talk shows and magazines had washed away our basic, and necessary, anger to act on the injustices of the last thirty years. This movement doesn't surprise me. Honestly, what surprises me is that more of us aren't angry. If we can't be angry about injustice, then we have become sheep to be led into exploitation and hopelessness. Let's think about the reasons to angry today.
Our country began a major cultural change when Reagan broke the Air Traffic Controllers union. It was the first act of an undeniable slide downward for the middle class. News story after news story has documented how the middle class in this country has fallen behind in real income since then. This is not political rhetoric. It is fact. Because of this, the gap between the rich (the 1%) and the rest of us ( the 99%) is the highest ever. Also a fact. During the last ten years the banks and other financial institutions created phony financial instruments, passed them off as valuable securities, then bet against them knowing they were a fraud. When the fraud was finally uncovered and those fancy products were deemed worthless, tens of ($)trillions of wealth were lost. It all happened because of the greed and criminal behavior of bankers. Millions of homeowners lost their homes- lives were damaged-pensions were gone-the economy tanked and the middle class had to pay to bail them out.
These, among other things make me angry. They anger me because they threaten the future for my children and grandchildren. My anger doesn't belong to just one political party. I'm angry that my President's Justice Department hasn't gone after even one of those criminals who did this to us. Instead of giving themselves big bonuses, they should be on the perp walk to hell for the lives they've ruined. I'm angry that Mr. Obama wasn't strong enough in the beginning, when it came to protecting the middle class. I'm angry that the Republicans in Congress will not provide even one piece of legislation to get us moving again. I'm angry they keep putting out a pack of lies about tax breaks for "job creators" and trying to destroy the programs that made us safe in our old age so the corporations can profit more. There isn't a single example in modern western history to support their economic ideas during times like these- but they just won't tell the truth about these things. And, that's because the only truth they did tell was their intent to defeat and ruin this President- even if it ruins us all in the process. I'm angry with the Supreme Court for the Citizens United case. This is perhaps the single biggest blow to democracy ever inflicted on us. In a 5-4 decision (with conservative- Republican appointees leading the majority-particularly the two G.W. Bush appointees) the Court allowed unlimited funds to be given to political candidates from corporations. It made corporations people, and permitted money to trump democracy. We should all be angry about this one. And there, I covered all three branches of Federal Government.
So, I invite you to be angry with me. Be angry along with the hundreds of thousands here and in other countries around the world who are now standing up to corporate greed, and the politicians who are bought and paid for by their corporate masters. The "Occupy" movement is about people saying "we've had enough!" They are demanding economic and social justice. The critics of the movement will complain that the people haven't said what they want. The critics need to open their eyes and see that this is about about reversing the very obvious trend towards too few 'have's" and too many "have-nots". Anger should not blind us- but instead open our eyes to these injustices. Our anger should not allow us to accept the 30 second political commercial as truth- but cause us to dig deeper for truth-to seek knowledge beyond the spin of political tricksters. I urge you to follow Dr. King's "supreme task" and let your anger be a "transforming force". Express your anger in knowledge, and use your anger to move you towards action- if not in the streets, then without fail in the voting booth.
Thanks for looking in.
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