How Does it End if Left Unchecked

Left unchecked, anger is as destructive to a nation as it is to individual souls, always beginning with fear and ending with hate.

As hard as this is for me to write on this fine Tuesday and Wednesday, when I'd rather be outside doing something else, I must get something off my chest after witnessing the shut-down of a political rally and the disrupting of others. How do I, how do we make sense of this?

How do we make sense of Americans physically attacking each other, and friends, to include Facebook friends, and family members turning against one another, in the name of politics? Is it not almost impossible to get to the root of the conundrum if we spend all our time reproaching others? Does it not seem that we would be better served by reflecting on what's happening inside our own heart? I did. And as a result, I discovered something about myself I did not much like.

Like so many Americans, I've been angry about what's happened to this nation that I spent a military career protecting and one I love, which has deteriorated to the point she's no longer recognizable. Rather than praying for those responsible for the chaos, I allowed my ire to metastasize nearly to the point of aversion. When I realized how far I'd wander away, I lifted prayers for forgiveness.

If we proceed past what the Bible describes as "righteous anger" or “righteous indignation” -- when we cross the line from "hating the sin but loving the sinner" to hating the sinner – have we not journeyed to the dark side, whether we like it or not? That's why some rely on riotous behavior in order to silence free speech, or others have little or no difficulty smacking one upside of the head with whom they disagree. Are Americans angry? Yes, we are angry.

Did we not seven and a half years ago, watch Barack Obama rise to power on a wave of resentment over war weariness and an economic crisis that spread over America like Hurricane Katrina? People blindly followed their proverbial knight in shining armor bearing glad tidings of hope and change, defending him at any cost, despite warnings from very concerned commentators and more recently, bloggers like me.

Today, we're witnessing a comparable scenario increased exponentially, now that the wrath level's been raised to fever pitch. Formerly "just angry" people are outraged -- while those on the other side of the aisle are correspondingly roused at GOP politicians and their aborted assurances to stop the out of control train set in motion by the left's phony agent of hope.

How does this end? On one side we have an extremely divisive president who once told supporters to "take guns to knife fights," and defines political opponents as "enemies." On the other side we have the GOP likely victor who has encouraged supporters to punch protestors (as a “self-protection” measure) and send them out of rallies on “stretchers.”