anger can tell you much about a person.
self-deception causes anger. misreading or misjudging brings forth anger. one’s lack of faith in oneself as a truth seeker is disturbing. this anger projects both outward and inward. this anger can manifest in lashing out at others. a recent outburst from professor laurence tribe provides an excellent example.
mr. laurence tribe’s tweeted concerning his former pupil, former president barak obama. laurence tribe, in the legal community, has long been considered a top u.s. constitutional law scholar. his name was frequently mentioned as supreme court nominee.
mr. tribe took issue with mr. obama’s 60th birthday celebration. the party was held at a time when covid-19, has made many individuals homebound and being either required or asked to comply with various national and local directives concerning social distancing.
professor tribe lashed out at his former student in a tweet “as barack obama’s longtime friend and former law school teacher, and as an admirer of much that he & michelle have accomplished, i find this whole over-the-top, hyper-opulent birthday saga utterly disgusting, pathetically shallow, and frankly nauseating”.
mr. tribe’s angry tweet evidenced his self-deception. obama’s extravagance reflected poorly on mr. tribe. perhaps, mr. tribe is angry of the fact he misjudged his longtime friend.
former president obama is one of the greatest politicians of his age. his political acumen and discipline are second to none. his ascent to presidency may never be repeated. mr. obama knew that he had to say everything what others wanted to say to move ahead. mr. obama’s goal was to make it to the top. he did it. many people failed to understand what mr. obama was doing. mr. obama didn’t believe everything he was saying. other people understood mr. obama’s expressions were for the purposes of his self-promotion.
mr. obama wanted to make it to the mountain top and obtain all the spoils that come with it. in the end, mr. obama has provided well for his wife and children. they are set for life. they have a beautiful ocean side martha’s vineyard house, millions of dollars, access to rich and famous friends, and amazing opportunities.
perhaps, mr. tribe’s vision of mr. obama is different than the real obama. the real obama’s actions show that global climate change is a joke meant to enrich the wealthy and control the population. the real obama’s actions show that overreaching covid-19 restrictions are a joke meant control the population. perhaps, the real obama’s actions made a mockery of mr. tribe’s beliefs.
perhaps, mr. tribe is upset that he misunderstood his relationship with the obamas. wouldn’t a longtime friend been invited to the party? wouldn’t a longtime friend personally call their friend rather than express express outrage on twitter?
anger being a source of personal weakness was covered within the torah. moses was asked by god to speak to a rock to obtain water for the children of israel. at the time, moses may have been under significant stress. “moses raised his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, when an abundance of water gushed forth, and the congregation and their livestock drank. the lord said to moses and aaron, “since you did not have faith in me to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly to the land which i have given them.” numbers 20
moses’ angry outburst of striking the rock exposed his inner self to god. for many reasons, his faith was wavering.
in sum, we all have our moments when we disappoint ourselves. we need to take these moments for self-reflection as opposed to act out against others in an angry fashion. professor tribe could have merely stated that he misjudged his former student to be something that he wasn’t. upon reflection, he may realize that he may owe some apologies.
be well!!
if you would like to read more posts, click here
if you find this post meaningful, please share
The Ten Commandments Project 