“ANGER SEEN AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE”? … Am I reading those headlines in the Florida Times Union Newspaper correctly? WOW … what a statement! Momma … Baseball/football … Apple Pie … Anger … ALL IN THE SAME MIX? Strange … BUT true!
While anger has been an issue as old as time itself … I do think it is more prevalent today … and not just in our American culture. I am not sure of everything that contributes to the increase in anger BUT I think is has been slow at building up over the years … and yet … seems to be here to stay.
Personally I think it is a byproduct of the “Hippie” era … and though I was a “hippie” myself … we laid the foundation for much of the negative consequences we are experiencing today. True … there needed to be “change” in the 60’s … which is why we challenged the “establishment” and … we saw some good changes … BUT … I think we took it the extreme and sowed the seeds for an “entitlement driven” mentality which we are experiencing today. One of our main beliefs we pursued was … “If it feels good than you have a right to pursue it” and “Don’t worry about the consequences of your choices”.
In my counseling, when I try to help my clients understand human behavior, I have often referred to an “iceberg”. The tip of the ice berg, which represents only a small part of our life, is our “behavior” (good or bad). While we feel it is our “behavior” which is the problem and therefore we work hard focusing on how to change my behavior … the “tip of the iceberg” is never the real problem. BELOW the “waterline” in our lives are thoughts and emotions which are responsible for driving our behavior … AND … even deeper than that is a core “belief system” which we have developed over the years that governs our thoughts and emotions and therefore our behavior.
Over fifty years ago the “revolutionary changes” of the 60’s instilled some core beliefs in our minds which today are challenging our thinking. We are indeed a pleasure seeking /entitlement driven people and because of that we have set ourselves up for serious anger issues when we don’t get what we want.
Is there a solution to this dilemma we find ourselves in today? I believe there is … BUT it will not come easy and it will only take place with some sacrifice, hard work, and personal discipline … which are all foreign qualities to us today.
SO … I would have to agree … It looks like ANGER is here to stay … at least for a while. AND … YES … it HAS BECOME A NORMAL PART OF OUR AMERICAN CULTURE … as much a part as softball/football … momma … and apple pie.
