Food For Thought

an·ger   /ˈaNGgər/

Noun: A strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.

Synonyms: noun.  wrath - ire - rage - dander - fury - irritation

Anger. We've all had it. Whether it be the slight irritant of something not done just right, up to the furious amalgamation of modesty outraged. Anger.

A primal human emotion.

When a person gets angry, they outwardly turn in to themselves. They may direct their rage at somebody else, at an object, by physical means or through a psychological barrage. They may materialise their displeasure or bury it under layers of civility. Each expression of anger varies. It differs between individuals, it differs within individuals. 

And yet, in this day and age, what does it bring us? 

At some point in our lives, we've been angry, but not directed at the right thing, not at the right time, not at the right place. We may be angry with our boss, nevertheless to keep the job, we lash out at our friends, children, pets, partners. Everything may be going wrong, yet we choose to silently curse at the young girl who took a tad bit longer with the cashier. 

Anger poisons us. 

It may serve its purpose by giving us what we want in the short term. But anger, constant fury, will only blight whatever sense of enjoyment we were entitled to own at a certain time. 

I feel that anger nowadays is misunderstood. 

We have replaced true anger with petty feelings of jealousy, with impatience, with squabbles. True anger empowers us to rise against injustice. 'Anger' today serves its selfish purpose of making its wielder the centre of attention. 

And when that doesn't happen as planned, we get 'angrier'.

We get 'angry' at the colleague who ignores us when we see them on the high street. We get 'angry' when the signal on our mobiles go off. We get 'angry' when our Facebook is peppered with game invites and reposts. 

We get 'angry'. Period.

Inadvertently though, instead of a tough empowered will to right what is wrong, our silly issues turn us into niggling hens that squawk, that boister and push, eventually settling down into the humdrum of pecking at sand, while that little period of hoo-hah kills us a little more inside. 

Our 'anger' gives us the opportunity to be rude and obnoxious in our pretentious world held together by a common, fragile social law. Our 'anger' allows us, for that split second, to break away from tradition and truly be ourselves - 

To be self-centered big-headed bigots.

Which funnily enough, is perfectly natural.

And so, it begs to ask the question. Has our civilisation really reduced us 'intellectual' beings into creatures of low morals and morale; or has it suppressed our primal instinct to make ourselves a priority, when society today prides itself so much on sacrificing, giving and making others feel comfortable in a decorated decorum of niceties?

Is our 'anger' a form of 'evolution' born from the quintessential need for self-sovereignty that is being severely suppressed by the dictatorship of intellect?

Are people nowadays behaving worse because society expects us to be nicer?