‘Mad as hell’: Americans vent anger, frustration over politics

Were you ever so angry at some element of your personal situation in life, either something about politics, economics or society, that you just drew up your hands and said, I’m not going to take it any longer than you’re going to love this segment of America speaks right here at straight arrow news. We gathered a group of Americans who describe themselves as and I quote, mad as hell, for the exact conversation about anger and what feels that anger? Is it a frustration with politics and elections? Is it the divisiveness and toxicity of American society? Is it an economy that just never seems to get any better? No matter what the politicians say? Is it your employer, or all employers in our capitalist society? Or is it all of the above? I’m Dr. Frank lawless, and I invite you to sit back, relax if you can, and learn exactly what makes American so mad as hell.
Every one of you on this zoom, to find yourself as mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore. All of you define yourselves as angry voters. Some of you are angry about the economy. Some of you angry about politics. Some of you are angry about society. Let’s figure out what is the root cause of this anger? So first, tell me in a sense, what makes you so mad about life today in America? Karen, let’s start with you.
What makes me so angry about life in America is the shocking change of safety. For our children, for example, the universities are no longer safe. For my children, certainly. But for many children, I don’t know why it’s acceptable to have people screaming Death to America, and have
Hamas and Hezbollah flags flying. So I think the fact that our universities have been indoctrinated with literally
philosophies from terrorists, has completely changed the face of this country, the safety for kids in school, our streets. I mean, just last week, the White House was being
I saw a President Biden’s they made his face, you know, bloody and this has got to stop the the feeling of terrorists taking over our universities in our streets. That makes me very angry. Joe, in a sentence, what makes you angry just about life in America today?
I see an overt drive towards socialism and Marxism. And nobody’s talking about it. I grew up
during the Reagan years. And socialism is not compatible with our Constitution. And I think that needs to be called out and spoken about, very definitively Radley, what makes you angriest about life in America. What makes me angry us would be our I have witnessed. And, you know, just my short lifetime, the divide that we have in this country is mind boggling. It’s astounding to me that we have Americans that want to cancel out other Americans, for the simple fact that they don’t agree with their opinion. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But we’ve lost respect. We’ve lost dignity. We’ve lost our manners in many ways. People, you know, just we’re first and foremost, we’re Americans. We’re not red, we’re not blue. You know, we’re not purple. We’re Americans. I would like to think that, sure, we’re gonna have differences of opinion. But there’s a right way and a wrong way about going how to handle it and how to fix it. Ben, what makes you angry, it’s about life in America, or government will not follow the existing law. When the current leaders find that they have an issue. They can’t get something through Congress. So they just decide we’re going to do this by executive order or by Fiat. They don’t seek the will of the people. And you look at the border is a perfect example. I remember hearing Dr. Field, talk to the border people what is the problem? What do you need? They said We don’t need more people. We don’t need more money. Just enforce existing law that what’s already on the books and we can solve the problem. We’ve got 10 billion people here
To the man or God always, we don’t know how many of those 2 million or terrorists, how many are spies? How many are violent criminals? How many are human sexual, child traffickers? These are people that can do us harm. And it doesn’t have to be many. But yeah, we can’t say how many of those 2 million why they’re here, and what they’re going to do, or what what they’re supposed to do while they’re here, where they’re going. And so it’s made us unsafe, the border just by itself has given us a national security crisis, a public safety crisis, a public health crisis, and even a fiscal crisis. It’s costing us anywhere from 150 billion to $450 billion a year, just to take care of these people. And we don’t even know how long they’re going to be here before they finally get to here in probably years later named in a sentence, what makes you so angry in America today? The fact that, um, people pretend that
politicians are honest, they are gonna give you what you need, and want, you know, in order to, you know, live up
a good life purpose for life or whatever, you know, they’ve been crooks my entire life, you know, they’ve never given me shit. And 48 years, I’ve been voting, so I don’t expect any miracles this year, because they haven’t given me anything, any of them. Okay, well, that’s,
that’s got to be as much as you still want to be on one sense has got to be the best response I’ve heard all.
Yeah, Tanya, what makes me most of that about the United States is the cost of living. And I think that’s why we’re seeing a lot of the crime that we are today, women’s rights, to
make choices about going to the doctor and what the doctor and they decided to do, and how the best course of treatment should be. Or
if that’s going to happen, what’s next? So if you can now tell me what my doctor can and cannot do? If I can and cannot have a baby? What will be next? That’s that’s what makes me angry, is that the probability it shows with the schools, you can’t read this, you can’t teach back.
This is a free country. We have liberties that are being attacked. And that makes me angry. What makes me angry just right now is the complete lack of historical perspective among people my age.
What does that mean? What that means is that things are very, very difficult. Obviously, right now, things have changed a lot in the last 40 years, the last 50 years. But so many of the people I talked to I’m 2829 have absolutely no idea why this country was founded have absolutely no idea how our system of government works have absolutely no idea about many events going on in the news. I’m one of the only people I know my age of maybe it’s in my specific area. But even in an area like Washington, DC, that is aware of what’s going on on a day to day basis.
Jeff will make sure maddest angry is today in America, the two party system has created a zero sum game that is incapable of solving problems.
Maxine, what makes you angry is the government is not working in favor of its people anymore, and the media is in on it.
Kara what’s makes you angriest? I no longer feel completely comfortable in my nation anymore. What do you mean by that? Well, my parents are both from Salem, Alabama. And they used to they’ve never felt completely comfortable. Just living their lives. And I never understood that I was always like, it’s kind of like that anymore. Times are different. And I don’t feel like that anymore. understand where they’re coming from back. You know, all those for their entire life. They lived through Jim Crow. I mean, my parents are 87 and 84. And I never fully understood why they felt like that. And I feel like that I understand why they feel like that now and I don’t like that. Why do you feel uncomfortable? This is very interesting to me. I feel that because I feel that it’s like
I never understood that that there was truly this level of racism in America. I mean, I’m not gonna fool myself into thinking it didn’t exist before but it was never manifested to me. People didn’t feel empowered to share it. And now they do. And it’s a it’s an uncomfortable feeling.
Feeling to go into situations and feel like I’m I don’t know who might hate me. And I never felt like that before. I totally disagree with that I think that racism is becoming a manufactured issue now. I think we all treat I go back to Dr. Martin Luther King, we all treat each other with it with respect to our character, skin color should not matter at all. And education should not matter at all, we should all we were all as smart as anybody else. We can all rise if we want to, I feel like I’m being told every day that I’m an oppressor just because of the color of my skin. I never.
I don’t think that’s what
she’s saying.
I mean, I have a master’s degree, I’m a professional, I make really good money. It’s not a matter of succeeding or failing. It’s a matter of comfort. Well, it’s not my fault. It’s somebody else’s not comfortable because I don’t feel like I treat other people by the color of their skin. And I’m told every day that I do, I have a son who wants to go to medical school next year, we told him he has to play all over the United States, because he’s a white kid, with two white parents, he’s got to go to the back of the line just because of his skin color. And I’m really angry about that.
I personally think all lives matter. And I think that’s the messaging that needs to get out in America. Yeah. Yeah. i That’s a good point.
You know, we’ve had for the past couple of years, you know, the rise of, for instance, the Black Lives Matter movement, but it’s not a sin for me to say that all lives matter. You know, I’m a devout Catholic.
I believe that Jesus died for everybody, not just for one or two groups for everybody. So I’m, I think that,
you know, in some ways, you know, some ways
Yes, of course, Black Lives Matter. Of course, they can get on this topic, right? This is not this is not talking about at all, nobody was
here,
perspective of what happened to her growing up in her family’s life. It had nothing to do with anybody on this platform, she was sharing how she feels and can relate to how her parents feel, unless you have walked in carers, parents huge, or any of you are carers, parents, you can’t speak on that. She’s just conveying her life. But
that you convey that your life, Lisa, that you’ve not been a participant in that nobody accused you of that, if that’s happening to you. That’s unfortunate. And that’s the that’s part of what this whole thing is. Thank you. We’re divided. We’re very divided people for very small reasons. And she just shared what happened in her life, and how her parents felt. And I can relate to that. I’m about 61 year old black woman with a doctorate degree and every day I feel invisible. Same. Same here, and I’m a white woman, because I feel like that I told every
I’m going
to acknowledge that there’s a commonality and there is a commonality for being a nurse America.
Well, I think we now understand why America seems to be so divided.
I think we now understand why
is very hard to have these conversations. I will invite anyone who has not jumped in on this first question to do so. But I think that this just shows how difficult it is.
I asked you a simple question, what makes you angriest? And you all actually got angry at each other. And that tells me something about where we are as a country. So by the way, I for the record, I’m not angry at anybody in this group. I
maybe I’m a little bit I was
maybe I could be in agreement or disagreement in some ways, but I’m not angry at anyone in this creek. I’m still trying to amend my I’m amending my answer to one sentence. What gets me the angriest in this country today would be like I said, the divisive nature and the deceitful nature of what our political system has evolved into, that people want to just hold on to power at all costs.
Mark is what makes you angry is about life in America.
Health care, the fact that I have to pay over $1,200, to go get an MRI to figure out what’s wrong with my head. That’s what I have an issue with. These are from Wisconsin, what makes you angry is the lack of civility in this country where we’ve evolved to. And our discussion here is a prime example of that.
People can’t have a conversation and disagree, without arguing with each other. We used to be able to have conversations and respect each other’s opinions without feeling like people were accusing you something.
Maxine, you’re nodding your head, what makes you angry is about life in America, I just want to revert back to what I said about the government not working for its people, because all of this divisiveness that’s going on with everybody was manufactured by the government.
Explain that, to us. I just I think that it’s in their best interest for us to be divided and not look at them to what they’re doing wrong. And all of the things, all of the shady things that are going on in our government nowadays, they would rather us be against each other than against them. Because it’s like A Bug’s Life. Like if we all banded against them, they would be done for
I need you to explain who you hold responsible for this. And I know that that we don’t want to have a culture of blame. I recognize that and maybe, maybe I’m keen to contributing to it by asking this question. But I do want to know who you are what you believe, is causing us to be so angry, and so mad as hell.
And these are from Wisconsin, I’m gonna start with you.
I think not blaming somebody, but taking responsibility ourselves to help make that change. There are politicians and other people who are out there inciting people and angering them and getting them to do things and not be civil to each other. But we all have to take our responsibility and stop blaming everybody else for doing it. And make that change be part of that change. Eric, from Texas, who What do you have responsible for this level of anger and hostility in this country? But it’s a combination, I think of media and government? I think they’re right on that with just the way that yeah, they are sort of pitting us against each other so that nobody sees what they’re doing, whether they’re, you know,
you know, what is the DoD loses? How many trillions of dollars and just nobody, not? Nobody says anything about it? You know, we’re just instead of us actually coming together and working on something and, you know, actually making progress in this country, yet. We’re all getting mad at each other and
just doesn’t work like that. You shouldn’t work like that. I should say, Lisa,
from California.
Who do you blame their career politicians, people who’ve been in for 40 years
in power?
And did dividing is the way to stay in power.
Rally from Michigan, who do you blame for this anger? You know, ironically, I would say to a certain degree, I blame the media, you know, we have evolved into what you know, like the 24 hour news cycle, every little thing, you know, something can happen halfway around the world, if we had the country, four seconds ago, darn near, and you already know about it. You know, and the media is great at taking anything that happens and pitting one group of people against the next, whether it’s a marginalized community, you know, minorities, what have you, and they create a lot of chaos and a lot of division in their own way. There’s nobody looking out and nurturing the middle class in this country, you got one party that that basically nurtures the corporate interests and the rich and you have the other party that is willing to put Band Aid problems and nurture the poor a little bit, but they also are also supportive of the rich and really, the person I blamed for that are the corporation’s the corporate donors that donate the politicians, the corporate interest in in advertisement and news. I blame both parties because I think they’re pushing their own separate agendas and not agreeing to work together to improve America as a whole.
Anybody else mark is Go ahead.
Russia and China, the only way to destroy America is by hating each other and to a point where we can go into civil war. They’re spreading misinformation on social media just to make us hate each other.
Okay, so
I also think that the, the micro segmentation of like, like journalistic sources is a problem, because it’s easy to go into your own little echo chamber, and watch, you know, Fox or watch like MSNBC, and they’re gonna like mirror views that you agree with, you know, as opposed to back in the day, you know, watch the six o’clock news and you get what you got. You know, I think, I think that’s really a big problem.
Here’s my favorite question of the evening.
Let’s solve it. I asked you who’s responsible, that’s actually less important. Give me at least one solution to fix it. Put your hands up, if you will help me help Americans come up with an idea to make things better. Anybody hear?
Me, sir, from Wisconsin, you go first?
I think the solution is people taking responsibility, starting with us taking responsibility and not letting them pit us against each other, and doing the facts ourselves not believing everything we hear or see on social media. And in the news.
Jeff, how do we fix this, I would start with Congress and not allow any legislation to pass unless it has at least 10% support from both parties.
Interesting idea, Max.
Division.
I just specifically want power put back in the people’s hands, I want normal Americans like us to have our voice and have our platform to be able to speak our opinion. And for everybody to know like, this is what the majority believes I want it to be honest and straightforward about what our country believes as a whole. And by the way, that’s the reason why we do these sessions every single week on America speaks on straight our news is we want to have one place where America’s voices heard, where you can disagree. All points of view are respected. And I just asked him this one case that we not bring the presidential race into it. Because the question is not why you’re angriest about Trump or Biden. The question is why you’re angry is about America. And in this case, what is your solution? Lisa from California, how do we fix this?
Get rid of the D department of education and pure school choice tax dollars go wherever you want him to go. Why do you feel that way? Because I think that the educational system is nothing more than social justice indoctrination. And it’s created on both sides. And by the time you get to college, and you have to choose your pronouns, or you have to go religious, right, or whatever you do. You’re just offending everybody. So if we if we, if we could, if we could put every kid in a good school, we’re gonna have to make the good schools ourselves, and that the schools teach to the children as opposed to indoctrinating them. I think when they grow up, they’ll be able to have a lot better discourse with a lot less division. Bradley, how do we fix this? I think one of the things we really need to fix today is we’ve got to find a way to fix the, you know, the constant gridlock in Congress, where you know, one party will deliberately try to block another one.
Common good at what they’re trying to do for the American people for the simple fact that they want to use it as
an election campaign issue down the road, I find that not only ludicrous, it’s farcical. And it’s an insult and a slap to the American public. We’ve got to disagree with that. We’ve got to get back to where, you know, both sides work together for the common good of everyone, and not just what they think is best for their party. So someone disagrees with that. 100% explain why I live in California. There is no gridlock here. I love gridlock in Washington because gridlock stops the bad stuff a lot of times and helps the good stuff get a little bit better in California with no gridlock. We’ve gone off the deep end. I’m leaving California as soon as my house sells I’ve already bought another house someplace else. Or the reason that I can’t take the policies here anymore.
Eric, how do we fix this?
Shrink the federal government give a ton of the power back to the states the way it was supposed to be? Yep. Neck. How do we fix this? Oh, eliminate or limit corporate donations to politicians and somehow curb the corporate interest in media.
Hey, good luck with that.
that
you’re not going to fix it any other way. You don’t pie in the sky here.
Nene, you’re also in California. How do we fix this? I have no idea
I would leave so I’m trying to get up out of here.
Tonya, Indiana, how do we fix this? There’s just so much to fix. But I would start with just taking a deeper dive into every politician and some of those bad apples just need to get out of there. Everyone votes based on their own personal priorities. And I think understanding why somebody votes the way they vote is a very, like, simple thing that all of us can do, because it feels very much like, you know,
I like up against something so much bigger than us, like us just voting. Sure our voices are heard. But I think just understanding one another, and why we vote the way that we vote and not hurling insults that if you are worried about the border, so you’re voting for this person, you know, you must be racist, but maybe I’m just voting because I like a certain, you know, economy, economic situation, a certain border situation better. And that’s why I’m voting for that person. It doesn’t mean that I’m a racist, and I think just hurling blanket insults. If you vote for this, then you must be this. We’ve got to stop doing that. Yeah, Tanya, Illinois, how do you fix this?
I think we talked a little bit about the the media and money. And I think that if we really want to have true objective news reporting, that we start holding them to the fire and letting them know that we’re not, that’s not what we’re looking for. We spoke about this that we’re not interested in, you know,
Donald Trump this or that, or who did this? Who did that we’re interested in what’s important to us. And I think that we can hold these media outlets to the fire by saying, I’m not gonna watch this. I’m not interested in that. And if we do that enough, it’ll hurt their bottom line. So let me do this as a final question. And this is by show of hands. We have an election in November.
Is that election going to bring people together? Or drive us apart? By a show of hands? How many of you think the election November is going to bring us together?
I’m gonna say yes. I’m not. I’m not I’m not confident about that. But I’m hopeful. You know, I’m so I’m gonna say, right.
And Bradley, you’re you are Yes. Also,
um, I don’t see how the election this year is going to bring us together as a country, because I feel honestly, it might hurt or hurts, we have one side that they feel if they don’t win the election, it’s going to be rigged or stolen in the they won’t accept the results, unless that’s the result they want. So that’s just how I feel about it. And we got to get back to we have trust in our elections, no matter if your side wins or loses. We used to have that. And that’s just got lost in the shuffle. And I just, I think it’s awful. But if you’re gonna sit there and say, Oh, well, everything’s fine if my candidate wins, but if he does it, it’s rigged and stolen. I mean,
just That’s insane. Then here’s your last statement to the American people. And here goes, How many of you think the election in November is going to make this country even more divided? Even more polarized? Raise your hands.
And that is just about everyone. I know that?
I know. Okay, it isn’t every one. But it’s just about every one right?
I don’t think it’s even on my asking a question you guys have to give me time. What a beautiful way to end this conversation. Let us hope that the next five months are better than the last five years. That was a reasonably calm conversation for Americans who are anything but calm. Yes, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about anger in America. But I’m afraid we’ll have to just leave it at that. So on behalf of the good people here at straight arrow News, I’m Dr. Frank Luntz. Please try to have a good day.