EMAIL DETAILS

>
> Matters of Principle
> Gary Hart blogIn matters of style, swim with the current; in matters
> of principle, stand like a rock. ~Thomas Jefferson
> Justified Anger
> Reducing Government
> The Thunder and the Sunshine
> Ink by the Barrel
> The Collapse of Basic Assumptions and Conventional Wisdom
> Why Do Serious People Say Crazy Things?
> Matters to Consider Before Launching Another War
> It Is Still Possible
> Puzzling Questions
> The Hidden Costs of Warfare and the Prophet Jeremiah
> Useful Links
> Huffington Post
> UC Denver
> UCD School of Public Affairs
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Subscribe
> Your email:
>
>
> Article Comments (7)
> Oct
> 5
> 2010
> Justified Anger
> Author: Gary Hart
> A lot of Americans are angry these days. Some have better reasons
> for their anger than others. Let’s consider justified and
> unjustified anger.
> The justifiably angry include: the unemployed; the homeless; the
> hungry; those who’ve lost their homes because of unscrupulous
> mortgage company inducements; those carrying an unfair tax burden;
> those who see special interest lobbyists running Washington; young
> people who cannot afford an education; those with inadequate health
> care; those whose loved ones have died in Iraq and perhaps
> Afghanistan; voters who see parties nominating inadequate or
> unqualified candidates; and so forth.
> The unjustifiably angry include: voters whose party or candidates
> lost the last election; those who hate President Obama or think he
> is a foreign Muslim; those who refuse to obtain information from
> other than the Fox network or right wing radio; those who do not
> vote or participate in public forums; Wall Street; those who do not
> pay a fair share of taxes; and many others.
> For pundits and commentators to discuss endlessly anger in America
> as if it were all one thing is to overlook the significant
> distinction between those who have a genuine reason for their anger
> and those who simply don’t get their way politically or
> economically. For investment bankers, whose industry was saved by
> the national taxpayers, to complain about “hostility” in Washington
> is absurd, particularly when they complain while taking home their
> tens of millions a year. Those who paid for the bailouts have a lot
> more to be angry about than those who benefited from them.
> The next time you hear some cable television wiseguy talk about
> angry Americans, send them a message about who is justified in their
> anger and who is not.