NORMAN — Economic stress, politics devoid of hope and the dangers of taking an airplane on vacation have acted to push the thermometer of the American psyche into a pan of boiling water.
More Americans are angry, and like Howard Beale in the 1976 movie “Network,” “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”
Unfortunately, this trend of public affairs-induced anger comes at a time when reasoned solutions to the country’s daunting problems are needed more than ever.
A Pew Research Center poll in April showed that Americans were angrier than last year ...
Much of the anger is aimed at the government and the people in charge. Only 22 percent of Americans say they can trust the federal government, which Pew said is “among the lowest measures in half a century.”
… So what can regular folks do, those who want to solve problems and not just whine about them?
The first thing to do is become informed. It’s hard work sometimes, especially on the front end. There are too many easily accessible websites and pseudo-media outlets and faux reporters that simply repeat and repeat and repeat lies and fallacies.
Check out legitimate news organizations before websites you’ve never heard of. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are two national organizations, one with left-leaning editorials, the other with right-leaning editorials, that can be trusted. …
Let’s remember: America was built, yes, with a certain amount of angry people, but the Founding Fathers were mostly well-educated and well-informed people who saw more value in being reasonable, and influential, than being angry.
— The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
