Let’s all be really mad and scared in 2016

When I’m angry I can’t think straight.  I’m like most people – I feel cheated, like everything’s out of control.  What consumes my mind is the person that wronged me and how I might get even. But life goes on and I have to make everyday decisions, sometimes really big ones.  One of the most difficult things to do is to make good decisions when I’m angry. I’m really stupid when I’m mad. We all tend to be.

There are a lot of angry people in the U.S.  A big chunk of our population is angry because marriage, by law, has been redefined.  Another chunk is mad at the people who are mad about marriage being redefined.  Some are upset because we’re not letting refugees into our country, others are angry at the people who think we should.  Racism is still a big deal, and it seems that more people are seeking to arm themselves than ever before.

We’re also scared (fear and anger usually operate in tandem).  Not only are we threatened by each other, there’s this large group of people that want nothing more than the destruction of our country.  They’re not very well organized, at least not as organized as, say, the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, but they’re passionate and some of them live here in the U.S.

Right or wrong, We are a country full of angry, frightened people.

We also have a big decision to make in the coming year regarding our next president.  I won’t offer any opinions about Donald Trump or his ability to lead us, but I will say the main reason he has a voice is because he’s playing into the fear and anger that is so thoroughly shagging our country.

I watch alot of WWII documentaries – it fascinates me how a guy like Hitler could come to power.  Turns out that the allied nations of WWI required Germany to “pay” for all the damages caused in the war.  This left Germany in a horrible economic state – poverty, unemployment, anger, fear.  Hitler came in with an amazing knack for politics and used the dark emotions of the day as his primary platform.  It worked.  The Germans had their hero vindicator and were ready for war.  One of the worst terrorists the world has ever seen came to power, and everyone cheered.

When leaders choose to exploit fear and anger, fear and anger become the leaders, and the places they lead us to are never good.

None of our candidates are addressing the fact that we’re pissed, that these emotions are volatile and if left unchecked will destroy so much of what we value as a country.  What’s far worse is that so many of our presidential hopefuls are using fear and anger as a huge part of their platform.  Even the Evangelical candidates, who are supposed to have peace and love at their life’s core, are exploiting the very things that are tearing us apart.  It’s a sickening irony.  Some Muslims read the Koran and see peace.  Others read it and see war.  It’s the same with Evangelicals and their Bibles.

But, in their defense, if you want to get elected, you have to embrace the strongest emotions of the largest constituency. So get ready for a very fine parade of anger, fear, and stupidity in 2016.