Do you wonder why some Americans aren't all that Angry?

[JanMichael]

Has the gravity of the National situation simply not had the effect that one would expect?

On a side note, why?

Is it a conscious, or un-concious, desire to try to will "Business as Usual" back from it's grave?

Is it the proliferation of mood stabilizing, and anti-Anxiety, pills? Are there fewer "freak-outs" on our various "soma" pills?

Is it the pacifying Media?

Is it the modern Work/Finance/Debt "Box" that prevents many from being over contemplative?

Just curious.

[Misinformed01]

1. I stay pissed, but more importantly, check your inbox

Luv ewe.

[TLM]

2. In a nation where obesity is a leading cause of death….

An abundance of apathy is no surprise.

[jpgray]

3. The average person has no time to be aware of what's happening

It sounds a little goofy, but most people watch the TV news and skim the papers. Based on that, it's easy to see why a profound uneasiness is more common than boiling rage.

[ibegurpard]

4. Well, it's not mood-stabilizing drugs that's for sure.

Cause they aren't dulling MY anger.

[Jacobin]

5. No. If you watch Faux and CNN, all is going well and anything that is

a problem was caused by Clinton and Smirky is hard at work fixing it.

Ignorance is bliss

[Djinn]

6. bit of both

some people don't know (although as far as I'm concerned ignorance is no excuse - nobody spoon fed me this info I found it out myself)

some people simply don't care

[Supormom]

7. Ignorance is bliss and

as long as I get to keep my tax cut I'm perfectly content.

[L.A.dweller]

8. The entertainment industry came along

and killed many a revolution.

Here is an alaysis on C.Wright Mills:

At the same time, given the trends noted, the majority of workers today, many who might have found jobs in management now face declining standards of living. we can now see that the vast numbers of workers in the world have seen their standards of living slowly recede, otherwise said a growing army of "cyber-serfs"does much of the McJob services required in the globalized economy ranging from overseas sweatshops producing garments, toys, and electronic gadgets...to sales, fast food chains, janitorial, security, etc. Consider for example as noted the rapid growth of tourism/entertainment. Most of the wealth goes to aircraft makers, airlines and hotel/ restaurant owners. While a number of upper echelon executives, pilots and professionals do very well, most of the workers, lower echelon technicians, clerks, cashiers, servers, maids, janitorial workers, etc, have seen their wages stagnate or decline.While in previous times economic retractions have been associated with political mobilizations, the culture industries foster escapist consumerism and fantasies that placate the masses. Finally, in face of the growing domination of the transnational capitalist class, increased inequality and despoliation of the environment (not much of a concern for Mills), there has emerged new forms of activism and mobilization (Castells, 1998;Dyer-Witheford, 1999).

[jpgray]

10. Time to get out Gibbon's "Decline and Fall" (nt)

[L.A.dweller]

12. That one is too long for me.

[jpgray]

14. Spectacles for the mob while the ideals collapse

I guess is what I meant. It's late anyway. :)

[kodi]

9. the Great Unwashed are comfortably numb

with apologies to roger waters

[Hamlette]

11. do you really think this is worse...

than "election by criminal trial" (Clinton and impeachment over a blow job because they lost the election) or stealing the election in Florida?

I really can't decide if its business as usual or pre-civil war.

[HEyHEY]

13. Because they misdirect their anger

They get mad at people cutting them off in traffic, being slow in check out lines, and things like that.

They have built up anger and don't know why. The reasons are the econmic pinch, the state of "terror" all that stuff. Rather than attack the source they attack a diversion.

[Selwynn]

15. Less anger and more critical reflectiveness is better than more...

..misplaced anger for angers sake.

Ultimately just because people aren't foaming at the mouth, cutting themselves with razors screaming how angry they are till the cough blood while mastubating in their own feces doens't mean they agree with the policies of the Bush administration or plan to vote for him in 2004.

..and as long as we can refrain from making ourselves look exactly like the person I described above, they'll be more inclined to hear our positive message.

We do have a positive message right? It's not just more of the same old shit about how pissed off we should be at everything? Please tell me we have something of content besides just our own anger. It's ok to be angry as long as we can channel that into a postive message of change for a better tomorrow. Otherwise, you can shove it. :)

[JanMichael]

23. National Healthcare, Living Wages, No Imperialism.

Etfreakincetera!

If that isn't positive then you can shove it:-)

[chaska]

16. they're busy...

chewing they're cuds.

[Terwilliger]

17. I know why they're not angry

They're not angry because they're not paying attention. They're not angry because they're not directly affected. They're not angry because they feel like this whole "I am an American" thing gives them carte blanche to ignore the consequences of what their being American means.

[jpgray]

18. What he said

And again, I don't want "heightening of the contradictions"--I don't want to let a disaster come just to wake people up. We have the necessary institutions--they are just corrupt to the point where they are doing active harm instead of good. Unfixable? Man I hope not.

[Lindsey]

19. This is something that has had me perplexed for

quite some time. I think a lot of people simply don't know that politics truly effects their everyday lives. Also, they don't want to spend the time finding out. It took the 2000 selection to mobilize me and I haven't been able to stop. The scary thing is that there's soooo much that our country has done that I had NO CLUE about (Chile -1973, what Iran-Contra was really about, and all of the stuff that the repubs have been planning for years finally coming to fruition.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

20. Most Americans are just trying to survive day-to-day...being angry...

...about anything wastes their time.

[spindoctor]

21. No, I wish I could ignore it myself

Because I have better things to do.
Unfortunately, it is not in my nature. So I continue to torture and aggrevate myself. All in good fun.

[BloodyWilliam]

22. They don't care enough to know and they don't know enough to care.