THE PRICE OF ANGER
Counterproductive and Disastrous
ALBETANO, an ancient Roman philosopher, is recorded as having said: ‘The angry man always thinks he can do more than he can.’ When a man is intoxicated with alcohol, he is not in control of himself. He may even go so far as to bang his head on a stone, unmindful of the fact that it may not be the stone that breaks but his own head. This is because, in his inebriated state, he wrongly gauges his abilities and proceeds to do things which may have unfavourable consequences.
The same is true of the angry man. In a towering rage, a man is not in control of himself. He overestimates his capabilities. Consequently, he involves himself in activities which are beyond his control. He realizes his foolishness only when his temper has abated. But, by that time, the wrong step has been taken and destruction has followed in its wake. It is now too late for regrets. He is unable to save himself from his wrong action.
While angry, a man is not in control of himself. He overestimates his capabilities, consequently he involves himself in activities which are beyond his control.
In India, one glaring example of such misjudgement is evident in the unending conflict between the Muslims and the police, most notably in Jammu and Kashmir. For some reason or the other, Muslims become enraged with the police, and then they clash with them. This invariably results in the Muslims coming to grief. The reason that the clash takes place at all is that, because the Muslims became so irate, they do not stop to compare their strength with that of the armed constabulary. If they were to think about the situation dispassionately, they would make a true estimate of their strength, and that in itself would be enough to prevent them from clashing with the police. Anger blinds them to the reality of their weakness. They start fighting with forces superior to their own, and the result is that they—the Muslims—are the sufferers.
The moral of this is that one should never do anything of any importance when in an angry mood. Steps to counter supposed adversaries should be taken only after all anger has subsided. This will mean fewer setbacks and more successes in life.