Is Anger Only Negative?

Today I came to a weird realisation pertaining to anger.

Society teaches us that any actions in and created by anger is bad. It's considered a self-destructive trait that it will hinder us in our future life and for that very reason, our mentors tried their best to beat it out of us, never quote seeing the irony in that very action. It was because of this thinking I was surprised to discover anger isn't only to blame for the worst things in life, but also some of the greatest!

The best things in life...

How can I claim that not only was the worst done in life, but also the best? Simple. It's called history. In American History, Martin Luther King Jr. once said that he did get angry, but then chose to focus his anger on creating something positive. He shaped the frustration and anger of those that were oppressed and helped shape not only a fairer Nation, but a fairer world view. In my own country the heroes weren't men who took silent action or waited to act, but the outrage of the youth of a small town in South Africa. Their actions sparked the fire of passion in others, which ultimately lead to the fall of apartheid. It wasn't by patience or being submissive that these world changing events became real, no, it was by pure anger, focused and distilled into it's purest form that the world was changed forever.

I believe frustration and anger might have their negative aspects when unfocused or when misdirected, but I also believe that when focused and directed, it can have a positive effect as well. Anger is by definition passion, unfocused and untamed yes, but still passion in it's rawest form and to do away with our anger is to do away with our passion. Anger in itself can be a indicator that something seemingly unacceptable happened to us and we're reacting in a effect to protect ourselves. The down side of ignoring this instinct is that we end up accepting a lot of unacceptable things in our lives. It's by this very acceptance of the unacceptable, that we become victims of those amongst us that seek to profit from our fears or suffering.

Stop accepting the unacceptable

Many people in their pursue to live anger-free, ultimately ended up compromising so much on what's acceptable that they now accept even the unacceptable. The best cure for this is to allow yourself to become angry, just not express it unless you're sure what sparked it and toward whom. Anger is sometimes necessary and by not expressing it, you're allowing the unacceptable to happen to you and inviting others to do the same.

In high school, the kid that never fought back, was the one that always got picked on. I used to be picked on badly in high school, but like many, I bit my lip and never fought back and the bullying continued to a point that I nearly took my own life. Ironically, the day I stood up to them was the day they became like friends. I chose to focus my anger in to convincing them to the fact that I could laugh at myself. It worked, and they even ended up protecting me from others like them. The moral of that little story? Stand up for yourself, focus your anger in to something positive, don't put up with the unacceptable and do something about it!

I've only touched the basics on this, but the points I wanted to make was that anger can be used to create positive things in the world as well, not just the negative, that you get angry for a reason and that you should listen to that little angry kid in yourself sometimes. Anger is our passion raw and untamed, it's there to protect us, it's there to use to save us or to destroy us when we don't. Either way, the choice of how it effects you in your life is ultimately yours.