I had a high school basketball coach tell me, “Roy you play your best when you are a little bit angry.”  There was an element of truth in that because when I was bested or someone did something that pressed my button, I became determined that I would not be outdone.  It pushed me into a different gear and my determination caused me to put out a little more effort or a lot more effort.  I could determine from that that anger is good and desirable.  However, I know that if anger is misdirected and misapplied it can be and is incredibly destructive.

It is one thing to become angry at the devil and allow that anger to cause you to focus or refocus on the Promises of God and the destructiveness of the devil and quite another to become angry at people due to hurts or perceived hurts.  A wounded spirit is like a wounded animal, dangerous. 

I’m sure we have all experienced or noticed that when someone states something strongly and with deep conviction, people pay attention.  They may not agree and may become angry in response, but they pay attention.  In a sense, it is, “the squeaky wheel getting the grease.” 

The anger that I have observed over the past four years has produced a dangerous level of animosity and hate that is proving to be destructive.  The anger and hate that has been leveled at President Trump and all who have supported or voted for him have erupted into demonstrations of violence.  Our entire society has become a boiling cauldron of violence that is about to boil over.  We have become a powder keg of destruction and I stay concerned that someone is going to light the wrong match at the wrong time, and we will have an unstoppable explosion of violence.

I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, but from what I can glean from their views anger arises when there is a perceived unmet need or demand.  Children have been known to throw tantrums when they don’t get their way.  People get into modes of physical violence when their demands or perceived needs are not met or appear to be ignored.  There are reasonable angry reactions and unreasonable ones.  It is limitedly justifiable to become agitated when you get poor service or are on the receiving end of an injustice.  It is unreasonable to allow that anger to escalate to taking a gun or a weapon and seeking to harm or destroy the object of your anger.

Unbridled anger is irrational and often uncontrollable.  Have you ever seen someone become so enraged that they are uncontrollable?  Jean Kim, M.D., a psychiatrist and a Clinical Assistant Professor at George Washington University, said, “Anger overrides all other moral and rational brakes in the brain because it originates from our primordial, original limbic system: the brain center of our most automatic emotions like fear and desire.  While anger feels good at the moment, it is in fact deeply illogical and destructive; it overrides all other moral and rational brakes in the brain.”

Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW said, “The neurotransmitter chemicals known as catecholamines are released cause a blast of kinetic energy that can last a few minutes.  In a counterintuitive way, feeling bad sometimes feels good.  Like any addiction, anger can induce the discharge of dopamine epinephrine, and norepinephrine.  The adrenalin rush contributes to a sense of strength and invulnerability.  It creates a sense of aliveness.”  That suggests that anger can be addictive as well as dangerous.

I have observed that people who are constantly angry, appear to be addicted to the feelings of anger and the false sense of power it generates.  I find it ironic that many in the liberal community studied how anger becomes addictive in addressing things such as white supremacists and conservatives.  They presented the idea that the anger in those groups was addictive and transformative.  Their idea was that hate could turn normally reasonable people into hate-filled fanatics.  They were not wrong.  The irony is that those in the liberal camp and those following the hate-filled anarchy of today are being so transformed by hate.

I have also observed that a crowd filled with anger and hate becomes contagious and hate and anger spreads through a mob like a virus or a fire.  The Bible has much to say about anger.  In Psalms 37:8 we read, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret, not yourself; it tends only to evil.”  In James 1:20 we find, “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  In Proverbs 16:29 we discover, “A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.”  Unbridled anger is dangerous!

Likewise, the Bible addresses hate powerfully, giving warning of its destructiveness.  In Proverbs 10:12 we read, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.”  In 1 John 3:15, we find the dire description of hate, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”  Hate is corruptive and not only affects relationships it affects the mental, emotional and physical health of the one given to hate.

Anger is destructively dangerous if allowed to have its full vent.  There are those who seek to agitate and incite a crowd of people and cause them to “see red.”  When a crowd becomes violently angry, they become a mob and out of control.  The result is destruction and violence.  We are witnessing that today and some are drawn into the mania and anarchy because their emotions have been preyed upon and angry and infected with the anger of hate. 

Incitement of riots is a criminal offense, but in today’s rioting and incitement to violence, those in power in the cities have largely turned a blind eye and allowed the anger and incitement to plunge the crowds into a state of uncontrollable rage. 

When you mix all the ingredients of today you have a breeding ground for infectious anger borne in hate and the result can only be chaos and violence.  The inducement of misguided anger and misapplied anger by those who want to see disruption is paying negative dividends in America.  The fear and despair produced by the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the perceived systemic racism and abuse by police have enabled the nefarious to advance their agenda.  The stated objective is destruction and the dismantling of our system of economy and government.  When those seeking that are able to manipulate crowds transforming them into angry out of control mobs the stages are set for destruction.

America, we must not allow this to become the norm and must deal with it as we would a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum.  If you allow the child to continue unimpeded and unpunished you encourage the behavior and give them a sense of entitlement and power that demands that behavior continue.  It gives the idea that the behavior is justified and even righteous.  That is destructive. 

What has been happening is another reason that I will vote NO on all Leftists and vote YES for President Trump as I seek to keep America Free and Constitutional. 

God bless you and God bless America