Aaron Miller
There is a lot of anger out there. Whether you are watching television, surfing online, or out for a drive, it won’t take you long to run into someone who is having a full-blown meltdown.
This isn’t good for us at all. Living in a state of constant rage is terrible for our health. Anger makes our blood pressure spike. It causes headaches and disrupts our sleep. It can even lead to strokes and heart attacks.
Networks, advertisers, politicians, and media companies are intentionally keeping us in a constant rage. This helps to move whatever they’re selling. The perpetual state of rage keeps us clicking online, going down more rabbit holes of outrage. We are being manipulated to keep us on social media longer or return to cable news that keeps us in the echo chamber of rageaholics.
Have you ever noticed that these marathons of indignation and outrage are brought to you by opportunities to buy gold bars, pharmaceuticals, and emergency stockpiles of food? They are using fear and anger to sell us the latest products.
This constant anger makes us vulnerable. When we are filled with rage, it is more difficult to think critically. Demagogues and the unscrupulous can take advantage of our fear and anger. They can channel those emotions to divide us as a people and make us do things that are actually against our best economic interests.
The renowned philosopher Yoda was right when he once said, “Fear is the path to the dark side … fear leads to anger … anger leads to hate … hate leads to suffering.” Unfortunately, you have to wade through one of his lesser works, “The Phantom Menace,” to find this pearl of wisdom.
It doesn’t help that thanks to the devices that were supposed to make our lives easier, we are in a state of never-ending stress. Email, smartphones, and social media have fractured our attention spans and keep us constantly on edge. My great-grandparents weren’t bombarded by texts, emails, TikTok videos and Facebook posts designed to send them into a seething fury.
I’m susceptible to this unsolicited anger, too. I’m no better than anyone else. But recently, I am just way too tired. I don’t have the energy to be angry about every little thing that someone has said or done. I’m exhausted. Count me out.
I am genuinely perplexed about people who announce how offended they are about something that doesn’t involve them at all. I’m more mystified by how some people engage in a bizarre spitting contest about who is the most offended or indignant about the issue of the day. I’ve got a better phrase than “spitting contest,” but I’ll spare The Republic the headache of angry emails and social media posts they would be sure to get from a more vulgar and colorful term.
We need to bring the temperature down. We need to engage in civil discourse and work across political lines in order to solve serious problems. The constant manufacturing of anger isn’t getting us anywhere.
Constant anger is also a danger to our mental health. It’s not good for our individual nor our collective mental wellbeing as a society. It’s just not worth it. So instead of letting some issue send us into a tirade, take a deep breath. Maybe go outside, go for a walk or practice some meditation. Watch something funny. Don’t let it get to you. It’s just not worth it.
Aaron Miller is one of The Republic’s community columnists and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. He has a doctorate in history and is an associate professor of history at Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus. Send comments to [email protected].
