Everyday Rage: Contempt just below the surface

What is "Everyday Rage?"

It is daily anger that festers just under the skin of frustration, a loss of control from feeling oppressed due to acts in this country that has stripped us of our money and our dignity. This was imposed upon us by the elite few who are out of reach of our laws, regulations and the American people. It is clear we no longer have jurisdiction over our economy publicly or personally.

What are the effects of this monumental loss of our savings, retirement accounts and loss of jobs? Has Washington even understood the disastrous impact on individuals who have loss their jobs and no ability to find a new job? I haven't heard much if anything about small businesses sustaining for more than six months as mostly do not have long term reserves?

What effects do these and other insults have on our populous? After research interviewing 50 different people and still counting, here are some of the "Everyday Rage: Contempt just below the surface":

 Loss of healthcare availability
 Expectations: Dim future, no anticipation that anything will change.
 Competition: Can't compete with job market because no jobs
 Success: Despair that there will ever be any future success due to experiences above.
 Powerless to make any changes: This is where people begin to act out due to feeling so  angry and powerless to do anything about their future
 Ultimately we become a country polarized o those who still have jobs and those who don't?

What has happened to my America?

I recognize this as I have been in this situation however the economic slump of the 80's was not this bad. What I see today causes me not to recognize my America? I still do not trust this government to stand for me, nor do I trust that I'm being heard or that I even count to my state or federal officials?
Too much has happened to beat me down and I have to dig deep to try and turn this around.

When President Obama's inauguration was approaching I was relieved that the Bush Posse was finally kicked out. Yet, I could not gather enthusiasm for the new dawn that was coming to Washington. I still had residual mistrust. After all, it was eight years of chipping away of my trust and value as a citizen of my country.

I don't remember the moment that I began to fear living in the United States? It was most likely an insidious process. The experience of feeling like an enemy in my own country reminds me of a Philip Roth novel, The Plot Against America. In Roth's novel Charles Lindbergh beats out Franklin Roosevelt and is elected president of the United States in 1940.

Lindbergh negotiated a cordial accord with Adolph Hitler. Lindbergh accepted and admired Hitler's conquest of Europe which then created an atmosphere of anti-Semitism and bigotry in America. This became a nightmare for Jews and anyone who did not agree with the president and his administration. The country became polarized politically as well as racially. Those not agreeing with presidential policies was labeled instantly as a traitor.

I read that book in 2004. I had the uncomfortable feeling I was reading the history of the United States in 2005. Roth's book was supposed to be fiction, yet I shelved it under non-fiction.
The parallel to 2004 was uncomfortably close. We had a president that disregarded the laws of the land. He fostered divisions in the country and suppressed dissent of any kind. He allowed favoritism in his administration and permitted his military to make their own rules.

How did this happen? Why didn't we do something? Why didn't our Congress protect us from this law-breaking president? Where were they? Why didn't they protect us from our version of Charles Lindberg?

Our new "Outrage Fatigues"

Some things have not changed about Outrage Fatigue we felt during the last two years of the Bush Administration.

Remember how we were treated with a series of unbelievable and repeated insults that rendered most of us outraged over and over again. Dick Cheney outed a C.I.A. agent; the Democrats wimped out to the Bush war mongering administration and Mike Huckabee suggested staying indefinitely in Iraq as a matter of honor!

Is it any wonder we were all exhausted from these and a thousand other such outragious, immoral, selfish and illegal events that have assulated our sensibilities?

The abuse I feel now is a broader, more generalized sense of frustration and helplessness that I just don't matter anymore? I feel such a loss of security. I no longer have control over my own finances and future. I'm powerless to change anything.

The money I work so hard to earn is not going into my bank and retirement account. It's going into John Thain's $1.2 million office remodel and million dollar bonuses to the same people who lost all our money.

We certainly can't count on our government watch dog's to catch the burglars: Our own Security and Exchange Commission looked the other way for ten years when warning signs appeared that Bernard Madoff's investment scheme should have been investigated.

How do these people end up determining my fate and then do such a crummy job?

"Everyday Rage."

This order is disorder all around us. A female friend of mine who is the most laid-back, peace-loving person on earth succumed to road-rage last week. She lost most of her savings as the economy continues to tank. She said she was listening to the news about million dollar bonuses on her car radio as someone cut in front of her forcing her to slam on the brakes. She snapped and rammed into the other car, screaming at the other driver.

Geri Spieler is the author of Taking Aim At The President: The Remarkable Story of the Woman Who Shot At Geral Ford. (Palgrave Macmillan)

Comments

[castlerider]

Thank you Geri, great post.

Many of us are fortunate enough that we can at least find someone to share an affectionate embrace in such dire times as these. I feel bad for those of us who don't have anyone, and are going through tough times alone. The tailspin feeling is so awful. Sometimes having someone depending on you makes it really tough too.

But this is a great post that shows we should all be more on the same page and arrive at the hardened concensus to be more educated, more informed, and not to allow to vote in these 2 faced politicians who don't take the opportunity to lead with great determination for responsibility, accountability and impeccable integrity. The days of labels and being able to trust someone just because of party affiliation are hopefully coming to an end. Too many corrupt and do nothing , bought-out politicians have gained power by festering and exploiting on peoples' religious fears and ignorance, and yes, most of those have been right- wingers following the lead of going all the way back to Reagan, but not all of them. It's a big part of what's gotten us where we are and must absolutely come to an end.

[Geri Spieler - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Castlerider: Thanks so much for writing.

It is very helpful, it's true, to have love and support in your life when times are tough. I am very fortunate to have it in spades.

However, the world is not just about me. There are many with love and support trying to help keep their families together. Love is great, but not if you can't pay your rent, mortgage, put gas in the car and all this after you did the right thing all your life, worked hard and paid your taxes.

It feels crummy, I'm sure. So far we are OK, but making contingency plans.

What I resent is all the lip service by people in government who have fabulous health care benefits, retirement funds guaranteed and salaries they are not worried about, but babbling on about how hard it is. Well, you know, get out here and really do something for these people. Open a coop grocery store in the empty Circuit City.

I appreciate your support. I hope it gets better soon.

[jdfast]

I agree with the post 100 percent. I do a lot of traveling in my business and I listen to a lot of different people from the worker bee to management. They are all mad as hell with this system. I don't know what is going to happen but when you have most of the people so fed up with congress and the system that they can't see straight and then you continue to hear of million dollar bonus system of wall street, 8000 earmarks on a spending bill, and yet we still continue to hemmorhage jobs and homes something is radically wrong. No one has been put in jail for fraud, Bernie is not talking and that will cost us millions to investigate his scam and there are hundreds of others. The banks flat out told us to f[[k off when we asked to see where the TARP money went and we put our tail between our legs and left. Politicians nominated for high offices owe thousands in back taxes and a simple "oh, I forgot" is all they say and then pay them. What would have happened to us? Is it any wonder that the good people of this country are on edge and ready to take matters into their own hands.

[Geri Spieler - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Jdfast:

I feel somewhat conflicted in my rage. I joke that I became conservative when I changed my voter registration from Peace and Freedom to Democrat.

However, all of this pent-up rage and anger for me isn't party related specifically. Some is just bewilderment that so much has gone wrong for so long and no one did anything? I felt powerless as well, and that was truly baffeling as I've always been an activist. So, it seems that even my beloved press has been barred by big corporate ownership with a chokehold on editorial. How else to explain the lack of inside news coverage we used to have. It isn't that the press has gone weak, it's that the press is now restricted.

Scary, huh?

[Galloviejo]

Thank you so very much, Geri Spieler, for accurately verbalizing my most personal thoughts and feelings.

Allen McDonald, El Galloviejo

[Geri Spieler - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Allen:

You are welcome.

Too bad, huh? I mean, I'd rather not have these feelings. I've been raging for eight years, and now, after we have have someone in office who has a brain, I thought I'd feel better.

It's almost like a bad dream that carries over and you can't shake it? Stuff keeps happening and I'm dragged down into the funk all over again.

I'm going to try and see about some way to make a different, personally, just to get some sanity. I think we have to. We can't live with negative energy all the time. We can vent---now we have to do something. Right?