The Cost of Constant Outrage
FEATUREDOPINION
Outrage has become America’s favorite pastime. Yet the rhythm of perpetual indignation has not made us more informed or more principled.
Outrage has become America’s favorite pastime. Every day, a new controversy surges across our screens — often gone by nightfall, replaced by another. Politicians, pundits, and algorithms have learned the same lesson: anger keeps people watching. What began as civic engagement has mutated into a performance of fury.
The toll is real. A country that stays angry can’t stay thoughtful. When every disagreement becomes a moral emergency, there’s no room for nuance, curiosity, or persuasion. We mistake emotion for conviction and volume for truth. The loudest voices rise, while the most reasonable ones fall silent.
Constant outrage also drains empathy. When the other side is always an enemy, compromise feels like surrender. Americans now live in ideological tribes that interpret the same facts as different realities. Social media rewards that division, because outrage is contagious — and profitable.
True conservatism once prized composure, discipline, and moral restraint. True liberalism once valued open debate and intellectual honesty. Both traditions are fading under the weight of digital rage. The nation isn’t divided because people disagree; it’s divided because no one can lose an argument without declaring a war.
There’s no policy that can legislate patience back into public life. It has to be chosen. It begins when we resist the next viral provocation — when we scroll past the bait and remember that civilization depends on calm. Outrage might make us feel righteous, but it never makes us right.