by Andy Lee
I Was Thinking About… The Cost of Outrage
Outrage is everywhere. It fuels our news cycles, floods our social media feeds, and dominates our political discourse. It’s no longer just a reaction to injustice—it’s a currency. And we’re all spending it.
We have become a nation addicted to outrage. We seek it out, we share it, we amplify it. It gives us a sense of purpose, a sense of identity. But at what cost?
The more we turn every disagreement into a battle, the harder it becomes to solve real problems.
How Outrage Took Over
1. The Media’s Business Model: If It Bleeds, It Leads
Outrage is profitable. News networks, websites, and social media platforms have figured out that anger keeps people engaged. The more shocking the headline, the more clicks it gets. The more divisive the content, the more it gets shared. We’re no longer being informed—we’re being enraged on demand.
2. Social Media: The Amplifier
Every time we share a viral moment of outrage, we contribute to the cycle. Social media doesn’t reward nuance or thoughtful discussion—it rewards the loudest, most extreme voices. The angrier you are, the more engagement you get. And so, we keep escalating.
3. The Politics of Rage
Politicians have learned that fear and anger drive votes. Instead of offering solutions, they stir outrage. Instead of bridging divides, they inflame them. Every issue becomes an existential crisis, every opponent an enemy. And as long as we’re too busy being mad at each other, we don’t stop to ask why so little is actually getting done.
4. The Death of Good Faith Debate
We don’t discuss issues anymore—we perform. We don’t seek understanding—we seek victory. Conversations aren’t about exchanging ideas; they’re about proving the other side wrong. And in the process, we’ve lost something essential: the ability to listen.
What Is This Costing Us?
- Broken relationships – Friendships, families, and communities have been torn apart by political and ideological battles that once would have been mere disagreements.
- Gridlock and dysfunction – When everything is a fight, nothing gets fixed. Outrage culture has paralyzed governance, making compromise nearly impossible.
- Mental exhaustion – Constant anger is exhausting. It wears us down, making us more cynical, less hopeful, and ultimately less engaged in the things that truly matter.
Can We Step Back?
Outrage has its place. Some things deserve our anger. But when everything is an emergency, nothing is. If we truly care about fixing the problems that fuel our outrage, we have to stop treating every debate as a battle to be won. We have to reclaim the ability to listen, to question, to seek solutions rather than just someone to blame.
If we don’t, we won’t just be an outraged nation—we’ll be a broken one.
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
— Epictetus
I was thinking about... 