Hunter S. Thompson and anger

Tonight I watched an excellent documentary on the late Hunter S. Thompson called Gonzo, and it got me thinking (as I knew it would).

The man had two very clear sides to his personality, a humanitarian, loving, generous side, and a very dark side.

I think all of us have this inside ourselves. And this is my issue.

When I was younger I was incredibly, unstoppably anti-authoritarian (and some would say I still am!)

However, this rage and anger, this fear and loathing many of us lodge against “The System”, the corporations, the politicians, the governments… we are told it is futile, although we are passionate, and then, sometimes, someone like me has anger into depression problems. Then, we re-evaluate everything we think.

My much-loved ideals led to my personal breakdown, my “not being able to deal with things”.

So we tone it down. We let things slide. We try to prevent the anger.

But sometimes, anger is so USEFUL – indeed, occasionally, it is the only thing that motivates us to GET SOMETHING DONE.

So that is the problem. How much anger makes us passionate, and how much destroys us?

A question for all of you to ponder. Is there a line? A gauge? A meter, in order to determine what is a healthy amount of anger?