Column: I am happy, and that makes others very angry

By Dan Kontos

It’s undeniable that we are surrounded by lots of people with some genuine anger issues.

These are the people you see in your mind’s eye that wake up angry, look at themselves in the mirror with a scowl, twisting and contorting their expression until they reach the pinnacle of grotesque perfection, snarling and spraying spittle at their image until a guttural and primal sound begins to emanate from their misshapen lips. Louder and louder until it can’t be contained anymore, resulting in a scream, or rage and hatred. AAAHHH! Perfect, now let’s get on with our day of fury and resentment for all things good.

This seems to be their day, over and over. They are perpetually enraged about something, or more likely a few somethings. Their hate crowds out clarity, hovers over them like the sword of Damocles, and consumes their very existence. What a way to go through life. This pitiful praxis is magnified by only surrounding themselves with like-minded tortured souls, feeding off of each other like instruments in a demonic symphony, building to a predictable yet inevitable crescendo of hatred and often regrettable actions.

Their nemesis? Me. No, I am not a Pollyanna by any stretch of the imagination. However, I do think that I have been fortunate in my life. While on the outside, I may don the suit of apparent indifference to the outside world, on the inside I am acutely mindful of the blessings that I have fallen into – as have most of those with whom I meet. When these perpetually aggrieved individuals watch me go on with and enjoy my life, they get angry at me. Because I did something to them? No, because I am not tortured like they feel they need to be.

You see, I am keenly aware, and ever thankful, that I was born in undoubtedly the greatest nation on earth, live in the extraordinary state of Wisconsin which has been my adopted home for the last several decades, and landed here in Central Wisconsin where I feel so much love and friendship. More importantly, I am blessed with a beautiful and loving wife, wonderful children, a supportive and caring family, and the most amazing and marvelous friends that you could have ever asked for. I have had a fulfilling and meaningful career, enjoy good health, and can even pen a column or two in my spare time.

No, my life has not been perfect, or privileged, or even easy. However, I choose to focus on the positive things that have been bestowed to me, and make the most of them. Adversity has allowed me to make choices that have led me to where I am right now. That is pretty special for me. I dare say that your life may be viewed in the same way. At least I truly hope so.

A smart man once told me that he alone was responsible for his happiness. No one was going to drive what he thought and felt. We all have ups and downs in life, but how that is scored is up to us. Without a doubt, my friend’s bout of cancer helped frame his outlook, and his remission shored up his disposition. It was a lesson I was happy to learn thanks to him.

There are always going to be things in a normal life that will anger us. A water heater that unexpectedly fails, a pet who has an accident in the house, or my drunken neighbors who think it’s acceptable to shoot off their fireworks at 2 a.m. That is understandable, and we deal with it.

What is not normal are those individuals that allow hatred and anger to dominate their lives. The rage that destroys relationships and social life, that causes arguing with others often and getting angrier in the process, that results in physical violence or threatening violence to people or their property. I listened to a local radio personality ask how anyone can not be angry these days. Really?

This anger that results in an inability to control yourself, and makes you feel compelled to do violent or impulsive things because you feel incensed is not normal or healthy. It causes outrageous actions by people we should be looking to as an example for civil conduct, as the profane rant by Flemington, New Jersey Mayor Betsy Driver. Is this normal, rational, or acceptable by our elected officials? I say not. Unfortunately, it’s just a small example of the irrationality we are seeing.

We rail against our political opponents, sometimes even rooting for their death when they fall ill. We decry income inequality without a real understanding of what true poverty is; not working to improve the lives of the least fortunate in society, but jealously looking to tear down the lives of those who sit atop the economy. We riot against unjust treatment of minorities, while burning down the very minority-owned neighborhoods and business that sustains these very people, and utterly ignore the tragic rates of minority homicides in our major cities.

We fight dictatorial and capricious pronouncements by power-hungry politicians, not through the courts or ballot box, but rather by acts of outrageous violence. We scream for the defunding of police departments, only later to be horrified at what our actions brought to our community. 

We blindly accept big tech and legacy media censorship, lies, and unjust character assassination so long as it supports our anger; and then we use it to further justify our fury in some sort of twisted circular logic. We contort ourselves into all sorts of tortured reactions about things we cannot possibly control. We turn a blind eye to our common interests in fighting both internal and external threats to our society, while embracing the violence that it brings. We cling to “conspiracy theories” and allow them to crowd out any factual examination of the real story, allowing this to become the “truth” we defend to the bitter end. We allow politicians to drive us to fear, loathing, and anger with corruption and deception. 

So forgive me if I choose to be happy, appreciative, and satisfied that my life is on track. Perhaps not the track I envisioned, but definitely one that I am grateful for.

My advice to all of the angry people out there is to worry about things you can control and channel your energy to make your life better. Perhaps tone down the news, social media, and sources of angry voices in your life. You will find yourself in a much better place. One where you can appreciate end enjoy the blessings that this great nation provides.

Join me on Parler @”DanKontos” for some bare-knuckles political opinions, a bit of overly dry humor, and shades of columns to come. All opinions are truly welcome there. God bless.

Dan Kontos is a paid columnist for the Metro Wire. He chooses his own topics and his opinions do not necessarily represent the staff of the Metro Wire. He lives with his family in Whiting.