#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.

Peter