In international politics, MAD stands for Mutually Assured Destruction. This concept emerged during the Cold War years of the 1950s and 1960s. It stressed the fact that both sides in a conflict have enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other, so that no side could win a nuclear war. To a great extent, the concept has kept the world from experiencing global catastrophe of a nuclear war. However, there is another way that people go about mutually destroying themselves – through untamed anger. I have seen two motorists mutually destroying their vehicles for a minor incident on the road.
I often consider anger as temporary insanity. A spell of anger can cause irreparable damage.
People express their anger in various ways. From verbal abuse to physical, withdrawal to malicious damage, we have different means of showing displeasure. What is often forgotten is the fact that all sense of decorum and judgment could be lost in a feat of anger. A man got angry at his wife and filled her car with concrete. Both those who destroyed each other’s vehicle and the man who filled his wife’s car with concrete acted contrary to reason. The steps they took were never going to de-escalate tension; rather, things would go worse. When things abate, they would have to figure out how to fix those vehicles at some great cost. I often consider anger as temporary insanity. A spell of anger can cause irreparable damage. This is why the Bible condemns those who have no rule over their spirits. Make it a rule that when you are angry, you do not speak or act immediately. It is unimaginable what new perspective we will have on issues if we just allow a few moments to pass before we respond.
