Our political discourse proceeds in a mode of polarized vituperation, populist nationalism infects the air we breathe, racist language that many thought had gone the way of segregated bathrooms continues its resurgence, First Nation peoples’ land (the meager portion allotted) is violated on a daily basis, hate crimes and mass shootings remain ever in the news, pollution plagues the country (the tap water in Armenia, Wisconsin, is “laced with contaminants and fear,” writes Jack Healy in the New York Times—I suppose the citizens of Armenia could always move to Flint, Michigan), an embittered patriarchy stalks the land like the undead, tax cuts for the wealthy promise the trickling down of little more than nice wishes that look rather like indifference, the president is a reality TV star with a shallow historical sense, and global heating carries on as we approach our Midterm elections. What could go wrong?
The rhetoric of the president’s party has grown so toxic that the stalwart conservative George Will severed ties with the Republicans and urged the electorate to vote Democratic in the midterm elections. No fan of the Democratic party, Will nevertheless recognizes utter folly and moral bankruptcy when he sees it.
In her recent book Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger (2018), Rebecca Traister explores anger’s creative power—not the simmering rage of an embittered way of life, but rather the deeply felt realization that things are not as they should be, and that we can do better. This kind of anger taps into creative energies with a motivation to act in the world, to work for change even when the situation, on the face of it, inspires something less than optimism. But then, optimism is a luxury we can ill afford—better to act for the good regardless of how bad things appear to be. “Being mad is correct,” writes Traister; being mad is American; being mad can be joyful and productive and connective. Don’t ever let them talk you out of being mad again.” Yes. Yes, that! Which is to say, I hope people are voting.