Anger Ball

I am a pretty opinionated person. Everyone who knows me knows this, and I'm pretty sure anyone who reads this blog has picked up on that! Thing is that these opinions of mine get me in trouble quite often. Well, not really trouble like people yelling at me or anything. That I could handle easily. They get me in trouble with myself.

When I get worked up over something my body tends to respond in kind, like most people. The problem is that I also have pretty terrible acid reflux. Actually, really terrible acid reflux. And my family has a history of high blood pressure. So when I get worked up, the rage I feel about any given issue ends up getting channeled into my body, which is very, very, very bad for me.

The problem is not that I have opinions though. I feel that I can justify my beliefs and I also feel that if someone can propose a rational counter-argument or different perspective (with sound justification) I am willing to change my stance. No, the problem is that have very strong beliefs makes me susceptible to becoming quickly enraged over things I cannot change, which leads to agitating my above mentioned reflux, which then frustrates me further… it's a nasty cycle.

Lately I've been getting very worked up over people's negative reactions to the recently passed Health Care Reform. I have still not heard a single, rational, logical opposition to this legislation, and yet the opposition continues to make uneducated, irrelevant arguments against what is now the law of the land. It was "shadily" passed? Really? Because from my perspective this piece of legislation had more public debate and openness than just about anything we've seen debated in recent years. It's unconstitutional? Straight up baseless rhetoric.

On top of that, there's been an increase in disturbing gun violence rhetoric. More and more people are taking to the Sarah Palin-esque mantle of "Loading Up" in preparation for… what? If they continue to follow that path, it will apparently mean loading up a gun and shooting specific politicians, as illustrated by her charts. Now, I'm going to assume that most people are sane and will not act out violently toward members of congress that supported HCR (or members who opposed it, for that matter). Most people are. But not everyone. And when the right-wing stirs their already rabid base with imagery and suggestive wording that indicates shooting people to get your way is OK… well, it's a bit worrisome.

Further, I find the idea that "loading up" to protect yourself from Government to be a bit laughable. I do support your right to own a gun in this country. So long as anyone is allowed to own guns, everyone else (within reasonable boundaries) should be allowed to protect themselves against others who have guns. I get that. Honestly I think there needs to be a nationwide gun ban, but that's highly unlikely considering the Second Amendment and all. But owning a gun so you can Fight The Man? Really? You do understand that The Man has tanks, F22s, highly-trained military special ops, and various other weaponry that the common person could hardly understand, right? Anyone remember Waco? Koresh was loaded to the brim, and look at how that worked out for him. All I'm saying is: own your gun if you believe it will help you protect yourself against others who might harm you, but don't trick yourself into believing for one moment that the cute handgun you just bought will stop The Man from taking over if He so chooses.

Have some faith in the system, people! Our country has survived via our system of government for centuries. Should we question the Government when they do something we disagree with? Absolutely. But there is a productive way to do that which typically nets results: activism. Organize, lobby, form a PAC… these are the things that can give you power in this country. Not inflammatory rhetoric. Not threatening violence. Cindy Sheehan had power because she acted and organized and had a cause. Pat Robertson built power the same way: by having a cause and organizing people around him (albeit he used the vices of religion and the old "give me money 'cause God said so" trip, but still). They built power and used it to fight for change. That's how to do it.

But all that said, I need to learn to take a step back and breath again. Stress, particularly over things that I ultimately cannot fix, does me no good. It doesn't help my general health and it certainly does not help me in my goal of getting slimmer and healthier. Plus no one wants to be around a grump. So this is me getting some of those issues off my chest so I can move on.