There is lots of talk about sex and morality, but I think anger is the most morally troubling emotion we have. Each emotion has it's moral consequences and pitfalls including sexuality, but anger seems to be the most anti social of all.
Our emotions are part of our being. We are said to be an animal species.
Emotions need to be filtered through our intellect for living in society, however. Some people say, "speak and act from the heart instead of from the head" (the heart being emotions), but another saying applies here as well. That saying is "be careful what you ask for as you might get it."
I tend to avoid anger if possible. In fight or flight I tend to favor flight. That strategy has worked pretty well for me.
I do get anger at times, but it's usually short lived. I've found myself swearing at a car that came close to hitting me or a dog that was chasing me. The reaction is almost subconscious as it usually happens before I'm aware of it. Then I'm sometimes surprised and think, "I yelled that?"
Most of the time, I try and avoid those situations if I can help it.
When growing up, I remember having some debates with people. I thought folks should not get angry. Other people would say that anger is a healthy emotion. They would say that there can be constructive anger and how anger is expressed is what matters, not that anger is bad.
Some would also say that you had to let anger out, or it would build up inside you, like in a reservoir. I think that theory has been debunked to some extent, but trying to fix the situation that makes you angry is still needed, rather than just letting someone walk all over you.
I used to say anger was bad, but justified if someone got mad at you. Then you had a right to get angry back. That was a little rule I articulated during childhood.
Since then, my ideas have become more nuanced, but I still have similar thoughts. I realize now, that anger is an emotion that is part of us. It's like sexuality, fear, sadness and other emotions. Though emotions are a part of being human, they are often problematic. This is why I think, today, that anger is the most problematic of our emotions.
During childhood, I also remember saying that anger leads to wars. Other people would counter by saying that, "war is a different topic." They would say that, "war is politics, economics and so forth, rather than anger."
Now I realize that war, between nations, is sort of a stretch to a different context than just plain anger between individuals. I still hold to some of those ideas, however.
Maybe a more convincing thought is that anger, between individuals, can escalate to more destructive things, like bar fights and violence. Those escalations happen all the time.
During my childhood, I didn't think about that point. The connection between anger and escalation to more violence at a personal level is a closer connection than war, but war is still in my discussion.
Today, many people are saying, "there is too much anger in politics." The connection to war is still there, though a bit more distant than my childhood ideas.
I think that anger isn't a good tool in politics. It tends to bring pushback so the side with the most power usually wins.
Anger can also lead to internal strife and factionalism within a political movement. Sometimes these internal conflicts, within a movement, are called "the circular firing squad."
For many people, anger is a motivation to get folks off the couch and out in the streets, or maybe to get out the vote. Yes, it does motivate, but I still see it as not normally a good tool for political change. There are other tools. Anger often just brings retrenchment and "doubling down" on the other side, rather than change or more understanding.
Yes, anger is a natural emotion, but it tends to be more problematic than other emotions, like sexuality. Sexuality can be problematic also and it does tend to get most of the limelight in terms of discussions about morality.
I put in a vote for saying that anger is our most troubling emotion.
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