Your turn: Doesn't it get tiring being so angry all the time?
Let us pause to praise the unforgettable Al Smith. Wait, who? There probably aren’t many folks who remember Smith, who was the son of Irish immigrants, grew up poor on the lower east side of Manhattan, dropped out of grade school and went on to be governor of New York. He was also the 1928 democrat nominee for president.
He was the first Roman Catholic to run for president and holds the dubious distinction of having lost in the biggest landslide in history up to that point. (Four years later the guy who whomped him, Herbert Hoover, would lose in an even bigger landslide.)
So, why should we remember him? Al Smith was known as “The Happy Warrior." Despite his difficult childhood, his huge electoral loss and receiving horrible insults because of his religion, he kept a smile on his face. No doubt all those things were painful, but in public, Smith was upbeat and confident.
The reason I mention this is that so many people in politics today seem so bitter and angry. You need look no farther than the two leading candidates for president.
Besides looking like Waldorf and Statler, those two grumpy muppets who shout from the balcony, those two old men look like they were weaned on a pickle. One has a permanent scowl on his face and the other one wanders around with a blank look in his eyes and his mouth agape.
There have been presidential candidates who weren’t so dour. Ronald Reagan seemed to be pleasant and from all reports, Bill Clinton was always up for a good time and was friendly to lots of people. Barack Obama had a radiant smile.
Many on both sides of the political spectrum are splenetic these days, even locally. Imagine moving back to your hometown just so you can complain about it. Or how sad it is to be constantly upset about past elections. Life is too short to spend all your time being angry at people you don’t agree with.
It must be difficult to be a perpetual sourpuss. We often hear complaints about “dog whistles." Those are things said by one’s political enemies that, although seemingly innocuous, somehow contain secret meanings that offend the always offended.
How hard it must be to keep your ears peeled to hear those non-existent messages. Walking down the street listening for trigger words or imagining micro aggressions could make you run into a light pole.
Every time there is a new cause for outrage, a video appears showing a protester (who usually looks like a suburban housewife) screaming in the face of a police officer who is just trying to keep the lid on things. She isn’t just screaming. Her eyes are bulging, the veins in her neck are throbbing and spit is coming out of her mouth. It must take her days to recover from being so mad — or maybe she never gets over it.
It is exhausting to stay mad all the time. I can’t imagine waking up every day being angry at the world around you. Anger is a white-hot emotion, and most humans can’t keep that fire blazing perpetually. Sure, I get mad once in a while, but I don’t let it fester all day. Read a book, plant a flower, talk to your neighbor instead of always jousting with the windmills that seem to haunt your every thought.
The gridlock that we see in our national discourse is a result of this anger. Each side sees the other as deceitful, hateful and utterly not worth negotiating with. Gone are the days when political leaders could take out a bottle of bourbon, put their feet on the desk and work out a compromise. Even if they could, the angry members at the fringe of their party wouldn’t be willing to go along.
In the last 25 years, a “Derangement Syndrome” has emerged about various presidents. Its infected victims are members of the opposition party. I’ll admit that several recent presidents have given us reason to dislike or distrust them, but their critics’ derangement makes it impossible for them to look at issues objectively. They hate the other side and everything they do.
Most recently, we could not have a rational, constructive discussion about the coronavirus. No matter what was proposed, if it came from the wrong side, the angry critics opposed it.
Let’s go back to Al Smith. He was subjected to unrelenting and hateful criticism, mostly based on his religion. Yet he never responded in kind despite the fact that it reduced his chances of being elected. (He probably would have lost anyway but we’ll never know.)
We can’t do much about the national anger but perhaps on a local level we could all take a deep breath. Don’t assume that the person you disagree with is irredeemably evil. Treat them like a neighbor.
Buy them a beer, talk to them and try to bring your blood pressure down. It will be better for them — and you.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Your turn: Politics shouldn't lead to everyone being mad all the time
