Appropriate and Inappropriate Anger
Anger is appropriate when three things are true: 1) a real threat exists,2) the level of your anger is proportional to the level of the threat, and 3) when your actions effectively reduce the threat with the least amount of harm to yourself and others.
Anger can be inappropriate in any one or combination of three ways.
1)You become angry when there is no logical reason to become angry. 2)You can become angry at a level of intensity that is out of proportion to events. 3)The response generated by the emotion can be inappropriate.
So how is The Republican Party doing on their anger managment?
Why am I not surprised that when the tables are turned on to the Republicans, they cry foul. Everyone knows of the despicable campaign tactics of the Bush/Rove elections. Now we find out that the same people are involved in McCain's campaign.
Last week John McCain announces Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. No one knows anything about her so it's not too hard to expect that the media will start digging. In my view, at least 85% of what has been written has been backed up by other sources. The other 15% could or could not be just nonsense. So today the McCain campaign decides they are going to make an issue of what the media (and liberal blogs) are doing to Sarah Palin. He feels it is sexist, demeaning, smearing, etc., etc.,
I would like to know where McCain was when Republicans started smearing Senator Obama about his being a Muslim, a secret terrorist, his friends with a domestic terrorist (who allegedly did bombings when Obama was 8), Obama doesn't love America because he doesn't wear a flag pin, his plane doesn't have a flag on it, that Michelle said 'whitey' on a tape, that Michelle doesn't love America, Obama did not visit the troops while overseas, disgusting accusations of infanticide against Obama, the Obamas were helped by Tony Rezko to purchase their home, he has dual citizenship with US and Kenya, he has taken contributions from a member of Hamas in Gaza, and EVERYTHING in Jerome Corsi's book. McCain also criticizes the liberal blogs for smearing Sarah Palin. What about all the nasty and abusive talk from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and just about every other person on a FOX show.
The hypocrisy amazes me. So today McCain states he is going to take out ads explaining how the media and liberals have distorted Sarah Palin's qualifications and character. Can this get anymore juvenile? Has Obama been crying to the media about what the Republicans did to him? Has he threatened to put out ads stating how the other side is smearing him? When the leaders of Russia, Iran, North Korea, etc., make verbal attacks against the US - is McCain going to cry foul and take out ads saying how mean they are?
Are these the type of qualities we want in a leader? Someone who can't take criticism, complains when the attention is not on him, uses his 40 year old POW experience as an excuse for everything while doing nothing for the veterans' causes, makes rash and reckless decisions, panders to whichever side he needs votes from, jokes about bombing other countries, can't control his temper, no sense of loyalty or responsiblity to his first family, then uses money from his second wife's family to advance his own political career, and now is exploiting Sarah Palin for his own political career.
Readers, I'm sure there are multiple instances you can all add to this litany. Remember awhile ago McCain complained the media was not paying attention to him, it was all on Obama? Well he got his wish.