What Drives the Anger?
It was a cold, rainy day on Linfield University campus last Sunday, leaving me and my two rescue poodles to walk the wooded campus trail alone. We had just passed the Art Center on the western edge of the school, some 200 yards from the back parking lot of a local Albertson’s supermarket when we heard a small, red truck blasting out from the stop sign into the empty traffic lane. The speeding car soon lost control, spinning over the curb until crashing abruptly into a medium-sized tree. The noise snapped my gaze just in time to see the source of the noise stalled against the bark of the tree. I worried there might be injuries, expressing silent gratitude toward those who planted that protecting line of trees where I have frequently found myself walking. There was a deafening pause, possibly for the driver to absorb what had happened, before he slammed into reverse, then peeled out in a cloud of smoke disappearing around a corner.
I’ve seen many such scenes the past few years, leaving me with more questions than answers. What is causing all this anger, and why is it being expressed in such trivial, pointless ways? For me, I have come to the conclusion it is really about those who feel a complete lack of empowerment. You know them as people who are not enjoying yachts, getting signing bonuses, or winning Oscars. They are more than likely individuals who slipped through the cracks in high school, smoke pot on their couch, obsess over video games, do odd jobs, and rarely, if ever, are noticed by the rest of us. It is these people that have become the background of our lives that strap on offensively loud mufflers, speed through school zones, tag street signs, and endanger others through violent behaviors. I recall a radio interview with a young teen in custody awaiting his 18th birthday so as to upgrade to the big house talking about why people do drugs.
“Why many use marijuana socially to laugh and relax,” he said, “it is the hard drugs that are reserved for the truly miserable.”
I agree, and often convince myself that there has to be a quicker way to get homeless people off the street, and the apathetic off the couch. We are a country that survived a Great Depression, two world wars, and a revolution, so, how can we let ourselves off the hook now when we truly need everybody to be part of the solution. I believe everyone has value, and the potential to be someone for someone else. We must steer this big ship heading for the iceberg in another direction, one that allows everyone to feel empowered and PART of their community.
