#anger #politics #votes #politicians #ideology Today’s politics is not about doing things to make people happy.
For many, it’s more about making people angry.
It’s less about ideology, and a set of sincere beliefs, than about personal grievance.
It’s almost as if politician X is just trying to get you mad at, or just to not like, politician Y.
In the past, politicians of all ideologies and parties conducted themselves like ladies and gentlemen, pointing out clear differences in ideas with their opponents. But, they refrained from attacking their opponents as bad people.
Today, the ladies and gentlemen of the political world have suddenly become unlikeable, per the messages of their opponents.
To be clear, these messages, in many cases, are filled with untruths. It doesn’t matter what you say about politician X, as long as it makes him or her a bad person.
The civilized is devolving toward the uncivilized.
Until that stops – it won’t stop until those who use such tactics find they aren’t effective – civilization will continue to devolve.
The question becomes: do we really want that? Are we really so angry as individuals that we have to find something, or someone, to blame?
Certainly, for some people, circumstances have not treated them well. They have lost a job, they have lost a business, they have lost someone close to them etc.
Is the knee-jerk reaction to get revenge? For some, it is. For others, soul-searching, or necessity, helps them move on.
Here’s a rule of thumb: when something bad happens to you, stop. Think about what you are going to do next. Don’t let bad impulses take over. Those impulses can turn law-abiding citizens into non-law-abiding citizens.
We, as a people, are better than our raw impulses. We KNOW right from wrong. We KNOW impulses get us into trouble. We KNOW things happen for a reason. We KNOW that often, when a door closes, a window opens.
We may not see the goodness of ourselves instantly. But we should not fill that delay with seeing perceived badness in others.
Resisting impulsive behavior is much easier said than done. It requires work. It requires thought. It requires us, as necessary, to stop before we act.
Anger comes easily to many. Therefore, having goodness triumph over anger requires effort. It requires not seeking revenge, but seeking, and finding, what’s next.
Not every calamity or tragedy produces happy endings. But revenge only compounds bad results.
If two wrongs don’t make a right, two tragedies don’t make a desirable solution.
It’s often said that success in life requires action, and it does. But when terrible circumstances hit us, a pause before action may be needed. Thinking before leaping may get you over a hurdle faster, and more smoothly.
We all get angry. Those who turn that anger into a positive effort will be rewarded handsomely. Those who vent first, and think later, will be punished.
#rudeness #anger #frustration #incivility #abuse The sign said: “Attention! Our employees have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times. They should be able to do their jobs without being physically or verbally abused. Most people respect this. Thank you for being one of them.” That sign was displayed at an office at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Nedra Rhone, “Real Life” columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saw that sign at a routine medical appointment. She’d never seen such a sign before. It prompted her to discuss general rudeness in a column published June 8, 2023. She quotes Christine Porath, who has studied incivility for more than 20 years. “This kind of incivility leads to negative outcomes not only for workers who experience it directly, but also those who witness it – all of which harms businesses and society,” Rhone quotes Porath’s Harvard Business Review article. Porath found that 76 percent of respondents in 25 industries across the globe say they’ve experienced incivility at least once a month. Those levels have risen since 2012, poking holes in the theory that the epidemic of rudeness started with the pandemic, Rhone writes. Stress, negative emotions, isolation, technology and lack of self-awareness are the main drivers of widespread rudeness, Rhone quotes Porath. The problem has many consequences beyond hurt feelings. Some of the front-line workers who experience this rudeness usually are not the most highly compensated. In a way, it makes them easy targets for the frustrated. Often, these folks have no ability to ease the frustration. But as they experience the abuse, the employees are less likely to stay in those jobs for very long. It is just not worth it to them. The frustration and anger at usually something small – Rhone sites a hair colorist lambasted by a client because she didn’t like the color that was chosen – can follow a frustrated person home. That means the frustration, without a stranger to whom to release it, can be felt by family and other loved ones. Therefore, the frustrated person takes it out on someone at home who had nothing to do with the problem. Over time, that can lead to family dysfunction, divorce, broken friendships etc. Such frustration can be taken into the political arena. When one or more people are angry and frustrated, it’s hard for them to agree on anything. So, little gets done. In the same political arena, fear and anger can overpower optimism and looking to the future. People become focused on what they perceive has been done to them, rather than what can be done for them hereafter. How does one become a less frustrated, nicer person? For many, it takes work. It takes being thoughtful before speaking or acting. It takes realizing that the person on whom you may be taking out your frustration cannot help you solve your problem. There are indeed rational, civil ways to address grievances in most cases. Don’t become the person who is not happy unless he or she is miserable, fearful and angry. Think about what is good in your life. Think about whether the energy you spend in anger is worth affecting your health, your well-being as a person and/or your relationships. People can be, and have been, wronged by others or other things. If you feel compelled to express that anger outwardly, don’t choose targets that cannot help you solve your problem. Those targets will disappear eventually, and you’ll be much worse off for THAT, rather than the original cause of your anger. Peter
