I have watched (and often cringed) as the news reports have played and replayed the red-faced screaming and gut-wrenching anger of some of the guests at this month’s town-hall meetings on the health care proposals.



We are hard wired to be suspicious of people who are not like us and this is part of the reason that its so easy for us to get angry and turn off when its someone in a faraway place with a foreign agenda and accent. But the angry people in the town halls look pretty much like you and me, and they live just around the corner. While some of them seem manipulated by interest groups, others are clearly possessed of a personal passion. I don’t like listening to any of them, but they have gotten me to ask myself, “What is a reasonable response to this anger?”

Understanding is hard to do with the mute button engaged. So, I decided a couple of days ago to try to listen to the angry voices, trying to hear their actual words.



I think a reasonable response starts with listening to the music more than the actual words. After all, people get angry for a reason. Even the truly deranged have some physiological or psychological trigger for their anger. We are all to be one, not something that’s possible without listening.



In the few days I’ve been actually listening, I hear a lot of fear. I hear people who feel powerless. I see people moving toward the last quarter of their lives deeply anxious about their health and well-being. I also hear a lot of unusual resentment and even hatred toward those with a different ideology or policy perspective.



When faced with fearful anxiety and even hatred, I know there is little I can do except to listen and to stay centered myself. Try to stay calm and respectful and to listen to those with whom I disagree. Treat those who are angry with dignity so that they may become centered and respectful and perhaps feel a bit safer. Most importantly, hope that our leaders may make right decisions and take wise actions for the welfare of all people.

Its oh so challenging, but try to remember that when someone is angry they on some level feel powerless and that the more you try to listen to them and give them the sense that you want to understand their point of view the calmer they are likely to become. Set boundaries and don't let yourself be abused and don't let their fears cause your fears to erupt to the point where you fire back or turn them off.