Angry Voters Subject To Brain Freeze!

Many people can’t distinguish intense passion from anger. They have usually labeled me as “angry” as they do now my daughter who shares my passion.

There is one big difference between anger and a passion for debating and exchanging ideas. Scientists have learned that the brains of people who are angry tune out anything that differs with their opinions and neutral forums like news media just cement their brains.

People like Dr. Hank Jenkins-Smith term it in this Newsweek quote as “motivated reasoning.” Apparently angry people’s brains ignore any information that doesn’t reinforce or defend their prior perceptions and unfortunately prejudices, however unfounded in fact.

In my experience, there is an easy way to tell angry people from passionate or intense people. Agree with an angry person and they get even angrier. But match their body language or tell them you take it very seriously and a passionate person who just appears angry dials down the intensity.

That’s why angry voters can’t understand or grasp President Obama. He too “cool” under fire. Instead, angry voters rally instead to the soap opera antics of a Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck or the gubernatorial candidate who threatens to “take people out” or the candidate who made a fortune as CEO of World Wrestling (another type of soap opera, featuring vulgarity and hostility as entertainment!)

This must also explain why angry voters can’t grasp that the TARP bail-out funds are well on their way to being reimbursed and will likely make a profit for taxpayers. It is why they refuse to accept that the country and the world would have fallen into deeper recession if not depression and full economic gridlock had leaders at the time not made the tough decisions. In my opinion, they probably don’t believe we ever really landed astronauts on the moon.

That is also why they are so dangerous to a democratic republic. Sit home on voting day if you wish but keep in mind that while the people for whom angry people will vote make for great fodder for late night comedians….it won’t be funny at all what they can do to America.

Angry people are not only self-destructive, they are dangerous to others as well as themselves because they don’t believe there is much to lose. In my opinion, we don’t want America run by people who get their kicks by tapping into or amplifying angry people.

Remember, as an elected official once told me as I tried to reason with him: politics is personal, not logical. If you’re feeling anxious right now about the state of affairs or your own personal circumstances, just sit on your butt come November 2nd and let the 23% of voters who are angry and vengeful control the election.

You’ll soon be plenty angry!