By Paul A. Ibbetson
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
We have always been taught that anger is a bad thing that should be hidden, suppressed, bottled up, and generally denied expression by any means necessary. To mention the possibility that there may be a time and place where anger may be of value, if not of necessity, is to place oneself in direct jeopardy of being labeled a "hate monger" or something worse. However, I believe there is a very distinct delineation of the displays of anger that may change the minds of some on this contentious emotion, and none too soon. If we look carefully, we can see there are three forms of anger: directionless anger, negative anger, and righteous anger. Bear with me.
First, we observe directionless anger which has been the hallmark of liberals and is aptly displayed in the "Anybody but Bush" emotional tantrums which offer no new ideas, or courses of action, but simply a display of anger for anger's sake. With a possible reprieve coming with the 2008 presidential election, directionless anger can be seen in those angry souls rigidly hunched behind the wheels of vehicles still displaying those sad little wrinkled and partially bio-degraded "Kerry 2004" bumper stickers. You've seen them, and probably shook your head. Yes, this directionless anger has a very long shelf life and produces nothing.
Second, we can observe the negative anger propagated by radical Islam which fuels the terrorist in a never ending cycle of intolerance to all who do not conform to their belief system. Negative anger feeds and replenishes itself unendingly, and the exaltation we see for the killing of innocent men, women, and children is but a mere taste of its potential destructive capability.
Third and I am afraid to admit maybe the most unpopular anger in America is that of righteous anger. This is the anger felt by those who see the blessings of this nation, the blessings bestowed upon this country by God, being taken away. This righteous anger was displayed by none other than Jesus Christ when he saw the desecration of the holy temple by the merchants. In a righteous anger, Jesus ejected the merchants by force from the temple and thereby restored the holy place as God had intended it to be. There is little doubt that Christians are given great guidance and restraint on the usage of anger within the Bible. However, as importantly, the Bible explains that as children of God, the emotions we have including anger are a part of the miracle of our creation.
It is not the validity of the emotion of anger that should be in question, but to what ends we use this emotion. When I think about the innocents of life so unjustifiably taken during 9-11, when I watch our elected officials waiver on the simple construction of a border fence, or observe citizens like the minutemen being harassed and besmirched for attempting to protect a border our government has abandoned, a strong emotion builds within me. That emotion is anger. How about you? Liberals would have you replace this righteous anger with apathy, an apathy that is based on the idea that America is evil and deserves its punishment, and of course, that no defense, whether a border barrier or otherwise, can actually work. I reject this mentality with every fiber of my being and submit that a healthy dose of anger may be just what is needed if we are to collectively get off our duffs and compel our government officials to protect and thereby save this country. I think that right after 9-11 for a brief moment, together we were angry. For a moment, we as a country identified an unholy force that was bent to destroy the most blessed country in the world, and we were angry, we were united, and we were a force to be reckoned with. In closing I would say that we must look to God for guidance in these turbulent times as did our founding fathers. We should allow his spirit to guide us and direct us in the challenges ahead. As we do this we should remember that anger is one of the gifts of our creation, not a mistake or an abomination. Maybe, just maybe, as the country crumbles piece by piece under the attack of radical Islam, with the assistance of an apathetic border security policy, we should entertain the possibility of collectively getting a little angrier while we still can.
Paul A. Ibbetson is a published author and lecturer on the Patriot Act. He is aformer Chief of Police of Cherryvale, Kansas, and is currently completing hisPhD. in sociology at Kansas State University. Paul is the author of the book"Living under the Patriot Act: Educating a Society" that will be available for purchaselate January 2007 from www.patriotactresearch.com as well as other major bookoutlets. Paul is a regular writer for the Conservative Crusader as well as several other online websites. Paul may be reached at : letters@canadafreepress.com
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