October 4, 2006

Miracle drug of anger

Thanks to my friend Megan for this from Garrison Keillor(watch the ad to read the whole thing):
"Five vexations. There are others. Pick up a newspaper and read about Congress and you will find yourself yelling at walls and terrifying the cat. Last week, Congress moved to suspend habeas corpus, one thing that distinguishes a civil society from a police state. Reaction was muted.

Then the Party of Family Values was revealed to have protected a sexual predator in its midst until finally a reporter asked some pointed questions and the honorable gentleman resigned and ran off to recovery camp: This level of hypocrisy takes a person's breath away. You thought that Abramoff, Norquist, Reed & DeLay had established new lows, but the elevator is still descending.

The power of righteous vexation is what keeps so many old Democrats hanging on in nursing homes long past the time they should have kicked off. Ancient crones from FDR's time are still walking the halls, kept alive by anger at what has been done to our country. Old conservationists, feminists, grizzled veterans of the civil rights era fight off melanoma, emphysema, Montezuma, thanks to the miracle drug of anger. Slackers and cynics abound, not to mention nihilists in golf pants and utter idiots. Time to clean some clocks. As Frost might have written, 'The woods are lovely, dark and thick. But I have many butts to kick and some to poke and just one stick.'"

5 comments:

ANewAnglican@gmail.com said...

Methinks Keillor is in full grumpy old man mood here. Get off my lawn!

Normally I would love him for it, but we could all do with a little levity. Perhaps a re-reading of Wobegon? Anger can be a good motivator, but it can also be a crutch. The anger that holds you controls you, and who wants that? (Actually, I think some people do.) Anger comes from fear and quickly leads to hate. And that, so says the Jedi Master, leads to the Dark Side.

So say we all.

(How about that for mixing references? I went from Lake Wobegon to Yoda to BSG. The way the mind works....)

Streak said...

Bah! Get off MY lawn!

Yoda references are always welcome. And, as usual, you make good points.

Now get the hell off my lawn!

ANewAnglican@gmail.com said...

Funny, I remember when Streak himself first wandered onto your lawn. Good times.

Streak said...

Yeah, he didn't listen then either. Thank god.

Anonymous said...

Yes...Thank God!! He's a great little fella. :)