The Psychology Of Self-Righteous Anger In America

There is an epidemic of self-righteousness in America today, and it’s spreading like wildfire with no end in sight. Every day, no matter if it’s local news, cable news, talk radio, or social media you’re going to run into this most dangerous of sins that are the Bible’s description, not mine. Being a self-righteous person by definition is someone confident of their righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others. Not a day goes by we don’t see in our news feeds someone or some group proclaiming some moral superiority over another.

In reality, people spend tons of time being discontented and indignant towards beliefs and behaviors that go against their persuasions and socialization. It makes them unhappy and threatens their perceptions of the world, “This can’t be real.”

What has become an epidemic is the time and energy people have put into being self-righteous. Why do they do it? It feels right to look down on a person. It makes one feel superior to that nincompoop over there doing things erroneous.

Criticism is another form of “Self-Braggadocio.”

By denoting the errors of someone else, what one is doing is proclaiming themselves better than them. My research has found that people with low self-esteem, people who are unhappy with their lives, people who feel the world has wronged them are the ones most inclined to self-righteous anger. Finding someone else they perceive as having worse flaws than themselves allows them to feel superior to that person. Also, it allows a person to vandalize themselves proclaiming they are targets of these subversive individuals or groups.

Instead of people stopping and investigating what individuals or groups are doing, they are coming to predetermination's based on their bad upbringings and narrow-mindedness. What a fair- minded, prudent person would do is investigate the matter and then react to it. In this writer’s view, we all should stop if we find ourselves castigating others and evaluate our rationale for feeling as we do. Is the issue before you worth the time and energy? Do you want to take on this contention because you feel secure about it, or do you have other motives?

Are we feeling the way we do because we feel it’s right or are we expressing our viewpoints because it makes us feel powerful and part of a larger group? More importantly, are we taking the time to investigate the effects any given issue has on our lives? Does same-sex marriage affect the lives of those who believe in traditional marriage? Has it cost you, friends and family?

The Bottom Line!

We cannot change what other people do. We can only change what we do and how we act and perceive things. People do what people do.?What we can do through honest self-evaluation and determination is to change ourselves which is the one thing we all have control over. Speaking for myself, I have more than enough work to do on myself than to dictate and adjudicate other people issues. We should work on developing our problems in a positive manner and let others do the same.

In closing, “The Psychology of Self-Righteous Anger In America,” has become a provocative and persuasive problem in America. Self-righteousness in America has come at a high cost. Polarization in the United States is at an all-time high, and much of it has been fueled by the self-righteous politicians and so-called Christians of today. If your only way to pull yourself up is to beat others down, you are the part of one of the biggest problems facing America today. I suggest one might be better served with their time and energy in maturating their own complexion than demonizing others.

ARE YOU A SELF RIGHTEOUS PERSON?

Written By: Johnny Hill