October 14, 2004
Who said Americans are angry? Where is the evidence to support your assertion that we are "angrier than ever"? Are we, as Americans, more or less angry now than, say, during the Civil War, the Vietnam era, or immediately following the 2000 presidential election? Is this factual reporting, or an effort to create a story to sell papers by formulating a hypothesis and supporting it anecdotally?
I'm not angry. My friends and family are not angry. I don't believe my neighbors or coworkers are angry, either.
Your less than vigorous reporting and nearly complete abandonment of journalistic principles are things that could make me angry, if there weren't ample alternative sources for news and information elsewhere.
William Adams Ferndale
Find time
America is frustrated, which seems to lead to all this pent-up anger that spills out in the morning commute in the form of road rage.
Today, life in America demands so much time from all of us that we're frustrated by the lack of time to do the things we really want to do. When we're 85 years old reflecting on our lives, what's going to stick out, all the hours spent commuting to and from work, or the days we made time to spend on the important things?
Amanda Wampler Rochester
Traditions sold out
Urban sprawl. Little cities fitting strip malls and condominiums into every square foot of available property. I know you need progress for small cities, but taking away all of the beauty isn't right. Roads are so crowded, and nothing is done to accommodate all of the extra cars.
Wal-Mart is taking away all of the little guys.
I know America is a melting pot, but we are becoming a variety of little foreign countries, not America. If foreign people come to America, they should adapt to our ways. They can keep their traditions, but be proud to be in America.
Jackie Thomas Walled Lake
Possession obsession
I know parents who have never said no to their children. We've taught our kids how "special" and "deserving" they are and have indulged them with everything. When a person thinks he's better than someone else, he becomes an angry person.
When was the last time a young person mowed the lawn, collected someone's mail or did an errand for someone without expecting to get paid? The emphasis on material things can go too far. A good feeling inside makes you very happy and ready to cope with each day.
Beverly Kelly Commerce
Resistance to limits
In our culture, we've convinced ourselves that controlling a vast amount of the world's resources is our right. Our ever-expanding population and economy will inevitably pit us against others whose resources we covet. If there is resistance to our taking what we believe we need, we are outraged.
We hate limits, but they do exist. We are thus in constant competition with neighbors, other cities, other states, other countries, other continents, other classes, other ethnic groups, other species, etc.
It explains how people can and did justify the Sand Creek massacre: The Indians were a threat to the expansion of the American lifestyle, so we had to "kill and scalp them all, little and big," in the words of Colonel John Chivington. Sand Creek wasn't simply revenge for a real or imagined wrong; it was policy, and it was inevitable.
Ian Bost Brownstown
Overdependence
People are getting more angry because they don't feel in control of their destiny. When this country was founded, people were far more self-sufficient. Today we could not take care of ourselves if we had to. This leaves us in a vulnerable and uneasy situation.
Dave Parcells Grosse Pointe Park
Trickle-down theory
Americans are angry because our country lacks any real role models. Whom can we look to for honesty, integrity and credibility? Politicians serve special interests, and our schools and churches report instances of children toting guns to school and adults molesting the children who trusted them. There is no accountability or sense of responsibility in our culture.
Kathy Smith Grand Blanc
Things change
Like Floyd Grimes, of Paola, Kan., I also have a frustration of history in my local area being obscured because of intransigence or the change of the land. But I think that every generation must feel this frustration. As we grow older, we tend to hope that things will remain the same.
Eide Alawan Dearborn
Actions beat words
Outwardly we profess the belief of the dignity of each individual, but inwardly we are selfish and competing for power, sex and money.
Outwardly, we say get educated, do a good job and you will be rewarded. Inwardly, we say you are only valuable if you contribute to the bottom line.
Outwardly, we profess in a higher power. Inwardly, we exist only for ourselves.
Donna Sullivan Birmingham
Greatness eroding
My anger stems from watching our country give away everything our past generations have fought so hard to give to us. We are allowing the Chinese and other countries to take over what made our country great and free: our manufacturing capabilities.
Americans have been the most innovative and productive of any country in this world, but now we are letting the top 2 to 3 percent of the richest people in our country run us to ruin. They control the politicians who keep passing laws that ship our jobs overseas -- to countries that have no minimum wage laws, health and safety standards or environmental standards. So I have to listen to the press say Americans such as myself who own and run a manufacturing company cannot compete with these other countries. Well, I can't compete with slave labor, and China is nothing more than a slave labor country.
Jeff Emerson Westland
Create peace
I think people are angry because we are always in a hurry now, with e-mail, instant messaging and cell-phone calls. Your time is not your own, so you hurry everywhere, and others whose paths you cross are seen as intruders in your space.
Susan Scharfenkamp Troy
Growing problems
People are angry because they are forced to be very productive all of the time at work. Like robots. If you don't play, you get laid off.
Paul Donahue Mansfield, Texas
Cycle of hopelessness
We are oppressed by our own government, and our freedoms are being chipped away in chunks. A criminal can walk away free because there is no jail space, but an American caught driving without a seat belt can be priced out of affordable car insurance for the next three years. There is no justice.
Each day our government seemingly passes more and more laws governing what we can or cannot do, so much so that it almost becomes hopeless trying to abide by them.
Alan Spiller Detroit
Culture of bullies
We have developed a culture of bullying and cruelty, from our entertainment to our politics. Reality TV shows glorify deceit. We watch to see others mocked and humiliated. The winner-takes-all attitude extends to our political environment, with the party in power effectively silencing the minority. The post-9/11 solidarity we felt has been squandered by partisanship, bullying and intimidation. When winning is everything, we all lose.
Joanna Ljovshin Waterford
Wrong values
Anger in America is viewed as a strength, while in more developed countries it's viewed as a weakness.
Vincent Radziecki Detroit