Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.

[Ladyhawk]

But I'm not sure either necessarily lead to the dark side.

I've been very fearful this week. Republicans scare me. Fundies scare me. This is most probably because I used to be a Republican fundy and I know how right they think they are, how ready they are to impose a theocratic / corporate oligarchy on all of us.

It scares me.

So, I got angry. Very angry. I think I lost sight of the big picture. I let my anger fester and it really came through in this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2293502 . Many others are feeling the same way.

Fear and anger are simply human emotions, neither good nor bad. It's what you do with them that counts. They both tell you that something isn't right, that something needs to change. But they shouldn't become overwhelming and all-consuming.

DU has had a hard couple of weeks. Mari333's and Cuban_Liberal's tragedies caused many to be grief-stricken. Grief can lead to anger, too. Then this stupid hate-fest known as the Republican National Convention assaulted the airwaves. For some of us, I think it became a one-two punch. Boom! Down for the count!

I need to get a fucking grip. I need to reign in my fear and my anger. I need to lance the infected wounds and let the poison flow out. I can't be effective if I'm overwhelmed.

Calm.

Peace.

Relax.

Be well, DU. I need a break. My emotions need a rest.

Love You,

Ladyhawk

[LiberalVoice]

1. I'm in Angry...Slowly sliding into hate.

Have fun resting Ladyhawk. :hug:

[Pachamama]

2. Namaste Ladyhawk...the opposite of FEAR & HATE = LOVE

They want us to all fear and hate and be filled with it...we can't let them do this....

We need to remember this...

Namaste :pals:

But I'll admit...I don't feel the "love" for them right now...so let me let out a few primal screams on the DU and then commit myself for the next 62 days to kicking their you know whats out of Washington and loving my country.....

[SmileyBoy]

3. I stave it off as much as I can.

While at the same time knowing what I'm up against and being steadfast in my beliefs. This is why I never watch news on TV (except local news and CBC's National), and get my international news on CBC and BBC online. I really don't have as strong of an opinion on Fox News as others here do, because I never pay attention to it. Still I have my John kerry bumpersticker, donate to DU and MoveOn.org, watch Michael Moore films, read Al Franken's books, etc.

I have Republican friends. (You can't live in ND without having some of them) They know I'm a liberal Democrat. It's just that we respect each other well enough to not get into any fights about politics. Republicans CAN be very nice people. They're just very misled when it comes to politics. Maybe some people are more mature than others when it comes to this. Probably if a civil war is initiated in the US if * wins, I'll be one of the last people around telling everyone to calm the fuck down and work things out.

Republicans are not my enemy. Sure, the ones at the top who create all the bullshit foreign policy and environmental de-regulation are my enemies. But regular, working, average Americans are Americans like you and me, like it or not. We can't let our emotions get to the best of us.