Anger in America, Part 2: How Leaders Fuel the Fire
Anger doesn’t rise up by accident. It doesn’t spread like a sudden storm cloud with no warning. It grows because something — or someone — feeds it. And in today’s America, too many of our leaders are doing exactly that.
The people didn’t invent this climate of lies, insults, and manipulation. They’re reacting to it. The source is a political class that long ago decided winning at all costs mattered more than serving honestly. Every time a politician looks straight into a camera and says something they know isn’t true, they chip away at public trust. Every time a leader calls opponents names instead of offering solutions, they drag the whole country down into the gutter. Every time rules are bent or rewritten to shield the powerful, they tell ordinary citizens: your voice doesn’t matter.
Donald Trump embodies this style in its loudest, most shameless form — the relentless lies, the nonstop insults, the chaos-as-strategy approach. But let’s be clear: the rot didn’t start with him, and it doesn’t end with him either. Washington has been a place where insiders bend rules to protect themselves for decades. Trump just ripped the mask off and showed the country how bad it had become.
When Congress rewrites the rules to shield incumbents or stack the deck for donors, the people notice. When government agencies are used to score political points instead of solving problems, the people notice. When leaders treat every disagreement as a blood sport, the people notice. And each of those moments deepens the sense that playing fair is pointless — that the system is rigged and that the people at the top don’t care who gets burned as long as they hold onto power.
It’s not hard to understand why people are furious. But here’s what’s critical: that fury doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s been stoked, cultivated, and exploited. Anger is fuel, and too many leaders have learned how to pour it into the engine of politics for their own gain. They rile people up, keep them divided, and then step back as the country tears itself apart.
That’s not leadership. That’s arson. And it’s time to start holding the fire-starters accountable.
