Perspectives on Politically Motivated Anger/Religiously Motivated Politics/Christian Nationalism

[TheLightWithin]

In my long observation of political news, I have often wondered:
Why do conservatives/right wingers seem SO ANGRY?
I tried googling that question once hoping for articles that explored that maybe interviewed people or something, but oddly got the reverse, articles which pondered why left/liberals were "so angry"
In my observation, in the US, the Democrats, at least rarely seem angry. That's their downfall I think.
Members of the public who lean left, or at least those who lean far left, may express varying degrees of emotion, probably much more than the Democratic politicians who are thought to represent them.

Those that lean to the "right" seem terribly, terribly angry -- both the members of the public, and the Republican politicians who are thought to represent them.
Every picture I see of Lauren Boebbert or Margery Taylor Greene -- they just look so, so, so MAD.

Now, all this partisan anger has been going on a very long time in the US and probably elsewhere too.
What is everybody's take on it?
Do you understand where it's coming from? Or not understand?
Is anybody justified in their anger or are they all mentally out to lunch? Are some or all of the politicians faking their outrage?

Of course much of political ideology in the US is shaped by --supposedly anyway -- religious beliefs. The so called "Moral Majority" and all.
Are fervent religious people really driving all this? Are religiously minded members of the voting public being manipulated?

To what extent do religious sentiments justify ANGER against things they don't agree with? Do they at all?
Does anybody here feel they have a handle on the emotions (anger, mostly) or thinking that go into Christian Nationalism?

Interested to know thoughts.

 

[muhammad_isa]

In my long observation of political news, I have often wondered:
Why do conservatives/right wingers seem SO ANGRY?

The far-right include fascists, who hanker after former status, and resent a new order.

 

[wil]

The good old days and good old boy networks include

 

[Faithfulservant]

It's an agenda to divide the people. Stop watching TV and the news and stay away from social media outlets and see how your perspective changes.

 

[wil]

It's an agenda to divide the people. Stop watching TV and the news and stay away from social media outlets and see how your perspective changes.

I see any single news service or pulpit as the issue.

When folks have a variety of friends and travel a bit ya get differing info and beliefs.

I love having a variety of income levels, races, religions and sexual persuasions among my friends...

The exposure is enlightening...

 

[Faithfulservant]

I see any single news service or pulpit as the issue.

When folks have a variety of friends and travel a bit ya get differing info and beliefs.

I love having a variety of income levels, races, religions and sexual persuasions among my friends...

The exposure is enlightening...

Me too! I feel like we do the worst disservice by not learning about other peoples cultures and life experiences. If we could really walk in each other's shoes how this world would change for the better. We need more empathy that breeds love
and less division that breeds hate.

Jesus didn't hang out with righteous people.. He hung out with the lost and hurting. I really try to emulate this because that bubble that exists only of ourselves is selfish and lukewarm.

 

[TheLightWithin]

It's an agenda to divide the people. Stop watching TV and the news and stay away from social media outlets and see how your perspective changes.

I think I did better when I did watch some TV news, and didn't even have social media.
I haven't made a point to watch TV news in awhile, I'm online a lot, and fall prey to clickbait.
Still... the anger out there is real.
I like to hear others takes on it.
Or maybe they don't see the same thing at all... due to use of alternative sources.

 

[Faithfulservant]

I think I did better when I did watch some TV news, and didn't even have social media.
I haven't made a point to watch TV news in awhile, I'm online a lot, and fall prey to clickbait.
Still... the anger out there is real.
I like to hear others takes on it.
Or maybe they don't see the same thing at all... due to use of alternative sources.

I think as a country we are completely polarized. I see anger on both sides.. at one point I felt MY anger was justified until I sat down with my angry first generation Mexican girlfriends and hashed it out civilly and we both were able to see each other's view points. Until I sat down and really paid attention to how people of color are treated in this country. It might not have changed how I feel about everything I believe but it gave me perspective.

 

[wil]

I think as a country we are completely polarized

I think our country actually benefits from it.

The polarization occurs between the old guard and change.

The racism, misogyny, walls of time are being torn down brick by brick.it is a slow processs...if it were fast we would be in more trouble

 

[Faithfulservant]

I think our country actually benefits from it.

The polarization occurs between the old guard and change.

The racism, misogyny, walls of time are being torn down brick by brick.it is a slow processs...if it were fast we would be in more trouble

I agree because I didn't live it so I didn't see it and therefore didn't believe it until everyone had a phone and captured it and now I can't deny it.

 

[Thomas]

I think our country actually benefits from it.
The polarization occurs between the old guard and change.
The racism, misogyny, walls of time are being torn down brick by brick.it is a slow processs...if it were fast we would be in more trouble

Agreed – but sadly it has to be recognised that the young can, and are, as equally racist, misogynist and sexist as their elders ... and again social media is used as an instrument to 'weaponise' opinion – Andrew Tate is a prime example.

 

[moralorel]

In my long observation of political news, I have often wondered:
Why do conservatives/right wingers seem SO ANGRY?
I tried googling that question once hoping for articles that explored that maybe interviewed people or something, but oddly got the reverse, articles which pondered why left/liberals were "so angry"
In my observation, in the US, the Democrats, at least rarely seem angry. That's their downfall I think.
Members of the public who lean left, or at least those who lean far left, may express varying degrees of emotion, probably much more than the Democratic politicians who are thought to represent them.

Those that lean to the "right" seem terribly, terribly angry -- both the members of the public, and the Republican politicians who are thought to represent them.
Every picture I see of Lauren Boebbert or Margery Taylor Greene -- they just look so, so, so MAD.

If we were having this discussion in the 90's, I would agree. But now I find it's the opposite. I have tended to have a more centrist view of most matters, although I do pick my battles. Back in the 90's I would get caught up in an argument with the right and left and have them both disagree with me. But usually the individual on the right was the first one to get upset, use insults, get angry, and stomp off angrily. So I tended to warm up to the left because they were usually calm and polite. They could agree to disagree or even *gasp* change their minds!

But today it's the opposite for me. I had to stop watching CNN because everyone seemed so angry on the morning news. I started watching NBC, but I get so annoyed by the reporters being rude and insulting to not just conservatives, but even independents! Just watch the View! It's basically a bunch of offended angry women. I don't remember it being that way when Barbara Walters started it. I see AOC having her weekly temper tantrum. On social media I notice that my friends who are angry all of the time are also liberals. And what tends to set them off? Facts. My long-time liberal friend who is telling us to trust Pfizer? I point out that him and I put together a project in college illustrating the corruption of drug companies like Pfizer. Now I'm unfriended. No debate. 20 years of friendship gone because of politics. Meanwhile I can criticize Trump and my conservative friends don't get offended. If I criticize Biden? Oh boy.

I think Elon Musk illustrated the past few years perfectly. People like myself were moderate liberals. Then liberals ran off the deep end. Then they got angry that some of us didn't want to follow them. Now we're right-wing conspiracy theorists.

 

[Thomas]

This is interesting ... from our side of the pond, it's quite different.

The big thing between the Left and the Right in UK politics is the Right hates the Left, which means the Right will gloss over and hide any dissent amongst themselves in pursuit of the goal, which is power.

Whereas the Left hates the right, but the Left hate each other more – this is not an original assessment – and can be relied upon to rip into themselves and destroy their credibility before they get anywhere near challenging the Right.

So we have had a Prime Minister who is a narcissist and serial liar, a Prime Minister who tanked tanked the economy in just 49 days (TBF, she tanked the economy overnight) a third Prime Minister who is as equally unpalatable as his predecessors – and a fair chance the Tories will win another election because Labour has too many public squabbles to present a credible challenge.

They had a chance under Jeremy Corbyn, way to the Left (a socialist by European standards, a loony by British (media-led) opinion). He garnered enormous popular support. Membership of the Party grew exponentially, they chanted his name at Glastonbury, he nailed the Tories for their duplicity at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, and for a moment it looked like he would carry the day ... then his own party concocted an campaign of bullying, anti-semitism, etc., to bring him down...

 

[Leveller]

Agreed – but sadly it has to be recognised that the young can, and are, as equally racist, misogynist and sexist as their elders

Good point, but you missed out 'ageist'. I remember chatting to punks in the late '70s and being dismissed as out of touch. I was in my twenties.
At the same time, other people would tell me that I was "too young to understand". We are obsessed with age.

 

[Leveller]

They had a chance under Jeremy Corbyn, way to the Left (a socialist by European standards, a loony by British (media-led) opinion). He garnered enormous popular support. Membership of the Party grew exponentially, they chanted his name at Glastonbury, he nailed the Tories for their duplicity at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, and for a moment it looked like he would carry the day ... then his own party concocted an campaign of bullying, anti-semitism, etc., to bring him down...

I have a friend who is a die-hard Tory. Even he said "Corbyn did not lose the election, the media won it." So obvious was the hatchet job on this man.

 

[TheLightWithin]

If we were having this discussion in the 90's, I would agree. But now I find it's the opposite. I have tended to have a more centrist view of most matters, although I do pick my battles. Back in the 90's I would get caught up in an argument with the right and left and have them both disagree with me. But usually the individual on the right was the first one to get upset, use insults, get angry, and stomp off angrily. So I tended to warm up to the left because they were usually calm and polite. They could agree to disagree or even *gasp* change their minds!

But today it's the opposite for me. I had to stop watching CNN because everyone seemed so angry on the morning news. I started watching NBC, but I get so annoyed by the reporters being rude and insulting to not just conservatives, but even independents! Just watch the View! It's basically a bunch of offended angry women. I don't remember it being that way when Barbara Walters started it. I see AOC having her weekly temper tantrum. On social media I notice that my friends who are angry all of the time are also liberals. And what tends to set them off? Facts. My long-time liberal friend who is telling us to trust Pfizer? I point out that him and I put together a project in college illustrating the corruption of drug companies like Pfizer. Now I'm unfriended. No debate. 20 years of friendship gone because of politics. Meanwhile I can criticize Trump and my conservative friends don't get offended. If I criticize Biden? Oh boy.

I think Elon Musk illustrated the past few years perfectly. People like myself were moderate liberals. Then liberals ran off the deep end. Then they got angry that some of us didn't want to follow them. Now we're right-wing conspiracy theorists.

Cute drawing in the attachment. Did you draw it? I love stick people!

My impression of right/left used to be that both had crazy extremists but the so-called "right" was worse.

I believe the polarization has become wider and the "wing-nuts" on each side have become ANGRIER.
Each side has become far, far worse than ever before in my lifetime

I became less dogmatic on my own, and more tolerant of opposing viewpoints.

Yet we had trump, pandemic deniers, and people storming the capitol.

I conclude afresh that the "right" is worse.

 

[moralorel]

Cute drawing in the attachment. Did you draw it? I love stick people!

My impression of right/left used to be that both had crazy extremists but the so-called "right" was worse.

I believe the polarization has become wider and the "wing-nuts" on each side have become ANGRIER.
Each side has become far, far worse than ever before in my lifetime

I became less dogmatic on my own, and more tolerant of opposing viewpoints.

Yet we had trump, pandemic deniers, and people storming the capitol.

I conclude afresh that the "right" is worse.

I agree that both sides are getting worse. But we have had Democrats storming capitol buildings as well. That is why those 2 politicians in Tennessee were suspended. In Wisconsin liberals stormed the state capitol to protest Gov. Walker.

We also have the left prohibiting citizens from researching or questioning the origins of the pandemic, the authenticity of Hunter Biden's laptop, the science behind climate change (Google, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) and a president who refuses to answer questions from the press. If the right did this to the left, I bet they would be quite angry too.

But hey, we can at least agree that both sides are angry.

 

[Thinking required]

People just keep changing the meaning of words. Liberal was a good word, now it's become a bad word. Conservative typically meant traditional, which can be good or bad. Nothing remains the same, change will always happen and the re-inventing the meaning of words keeps happening. It really doesn't matter who is in power, corruption is always part of the game. Everyone plays word games, ask any attorney. I had to stop watching all news (opinions at best) to stay happy.

 

[Cyberwolf]

People just keep changing the meaning of words. Liberal was a good word, now it's become a bad word. Conservative typically meant traditional, which can be good or bad. Nothing remains the same, change will always happen and the re-inventing the meaning of words keeps happening. It really doesn't matter who is in power, corruption is always part of the game. Everyone plays word games, ask any attorney. I had to stop watching all news (opinions at best) to stay happy.

Plus the term woke actually means alert to racial prejudice and discrimination
i am woke

 

[Leveller]

People just keep changing the meaning of words.

Yes, this has always been the case but I think the rate of change has increased in modern times.

Liberal was a good word

I think that rather depends on one's perspective.

We are quick to label things but the trouble for the internet age is that a label means different things in different places. I have noticed people from the U.S. on other forums writing about the left/liberals versus conservatives. In fact I have seen liberal and left used interchangeably. In Europe many on the left would consider being called a liberal a terrible insult.
I think the largest mistake that so many make is to forget the existence of the 'centre'. The fact is that this is where most western politics still lies.