Ask Your Physician if Rage is Right for You

It’s been a long day and I have neither time nor energy to tell you tonight of the good old days when Rush was fun to listen to.

But I can relate that I tuned in today en route to campus and El Rushbo was angry from the word “go.” I couldn’t stay focused on the content of his broadcast, although I did manage to learn that “environmental wackos” are the true culprits in the California wildfires, and that “act of God” is the California liberals’ only form of acknowledgment that God exists.

Instead I found myself pondering his tone, which was one of continuous, sputtering, indignant rage. I wondered how anyone could endure listening to such a tone for three solid hours.

I tried a thought experiment. We’ve all had the experience of being treated badly, telling a friend about it, and hearing them get angry on our behalf. “That stinks! Of all the nerve! How dare that bastard say such a thing to you! What a complete asshole! I’d like to give them a piece of my mind!”

I know it can feel good when someone becomes indignant for my sake. It’s a straightforward, unadorned validation that I actually matter.

But suppose my friend was still erupting with righteous fury an hour later? Would it still feel good?

I mean, past a certain point, isn’t it painful to be in the presence of an angry tone of voice, even if it isn’t directed at you—even, indeed, if it’s an angry tone enlisted on your behalf?

I couldn’t imagine being comfortable around a devoted friend who maintained such a tone, much less choosing to tune in specifically to hear it.

And yet millions of people not only *can* imagine it, they regularly make it part of their day.