Outrage Fatigue

Nation’s Liberals Suffering From Outrage Fatigue

Ain't it the truth.

"With so many right-wing shams to choose from, it's simply too daunting for the average, left-leaning citizen to maintain a sense of anger," said Rachel Neas, the study's director. "By our estimation, roughly 70 percent of liberals are experiencing some degree of lethargy resulting from a glut of civil-liberties abuses, education funding cuts, and exorbitant military expenditures."

Once again, The Onion nails the news. The punchline? The date on this piece is July 7, 2004. Which means it's probably saying more about the populist mindset than anything about "news." This angry indignation has permeated both sides of the political spectrum, and I think for many of the same reasons: unending war, fear mongering, income uncertainty and disparity, resentment of the powerful corporate network that can capriciously destroy lives and livelihoods at the drop of a pin in the name of multimillion executive bonuses... on and on. The talking points and proposed remedies may be different, but I think the root causes are the same.

A phrase I've been using a lot in conversation lately is, "My outrage-o-meter is burned out." I think The Onion has been eavesdropping on my conversations.