ANGER MANAGEMENT

In a recent e-mail, friend and fellow blogger, Harry (http://www.harry2335.blogspot.com)/
sent me a cartoon with the same title as this blog. It pictured an older couple who looked to be sitting on a park bench conversing.

The man says to his wife, "Whenever I get mad at you, you never seem to get upset. How do you manage to control your temper?'

His wife replied, "I just go and clean the toilet", at which point the husband asks,"How does that help?'

Her reply was. "I use your toothbrush."

Oh, if only it could be that simple.

Many, if not most, of us could use some anger management. I share Harry's fascination with the Letter's To The Editor column. It was interesting to read this morning's USA Today and to see the reaction to the saga of the flight attendent who may have taken his last "free" air ride.

Then again, it was on a JetBlue flight so it's possible that like for everything else, they charge their flight personnel for air travel. Regardless, the opinions of readers about the flight attendant situation today, as well as those last Friday, seemed to differ greatly.

Some denounced the attendants actions as a lack of self-restraint. Others used the forum to make reference to unruly passengers they have encountered and offered sympathy. But, the one whose opinion rang a bell with me was the writer who quoted "a crusty old boss" who advised him about emotions in business: "If it feels good - don't do it."

Those might be wise words for all of us. After falling on my sword a few times, I learned to stow an angry memo in my top drawer for a day or so before deciding it's fate. I grew older - not wiser - and am long gone from the "boss world." I regret not keeping the tradition alive in both my written and verbal communications.

As noted philosopher Eminen once rapped, "Words are weapons" -(and angry words are the AK-47's of the world).

In a "downloadable" sermon by James Merritt, written for any cleric who may have "writers block" or just can't figure out how to reconfigure an older message, he describes "World's Most Dangerous Weapon", thusly:

"Concealed as a sniper, quick as a bullet and deadly as a gun - it is the three inch animal who lives in a pool of saliva behind an ivory cage of teeth - (and is known as): the tongue."

With a writing style like that I can well imagine a future career for Merritt as a fiction writer specializing in the current fascination with vampires. However, he is right-on.

My wife Phyl often relates to me the speech a woman gave in a therapy group that included abuse victims. She said, "I have been beaten, raped, attacked etc., but the scars on my body healed much faster than those in my heart."

Much has been written and spoken about the decision to build a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero. The President has been in the news recently due to what some Republicans see as a flop on his position regarding this development; after his revised comment this past weekend.

While awaiting the fate of the towels in the dryer I was reading from another Presidential speech:

"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace - - -Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country - - - and, they need to be treated with respect. - - those who feel they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America."

I also read this reaction to the mosque today by a former and apparently aspiring politician:

"Building this structure on the edge of the battlefield created by Islamists is not a celebration of religious pluralism and mutual tolerance; it is a political statement of shocking arrogance and hypocrisy. - - - For radical Islamists, the mosque would become an icon of triumph, encouraging them in their challenge to our civilization."

The Good Rev. Merritt offers this in support of his sermon topic:"He who guards his lips guards his soul, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin" (Proverbs 13.3).

Oh, the would be politician above? That was Former Republican House speaker, Newt Gingrich.

And, did I fail to mention that the President making the speech I quoted was not Barack Obama, but George W. Bush; 6 days after the terrorist attack of 9/11?

It's been a while since I've quoted religious leaders from the Bible as opposed to the many blogs I've written immortalizing "allegedly" God fearing politicians in our midst. Despite that I'll end this blog with the following:

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a
tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion
is worthless." (James 1:26)

Change your toothbrush frequently.