Why Are Our Father Figures So Angry?

A Time and a Place for Anger

There has been a good deal of discourse over the past few years about the tones of voice chosen by public figures like Matt Walsh, Jordan Peterson, and even Gad Saad. The argument is that these public figures are alienating those who might have listened to and benefited from their messages, had they used a more diplomatic and conciliatory manner of speaking. Some of the discourse is nuanced, thoughtful, and insightful. Some of the discourse sounds more like my kids bellyaching that Mommy raised her voice after reminding them one too many times to get their teeth brushed and their shoes on. As Dr. Peterson is always telling us, we must separate the wheat (constructive criticism) from the chaff (criticism that is not in good faith or is based on individual preference).

In my Judaeo-Christian tradition, we often equate this manner of speaking to St. Peter, who was famous for shooting his mouth off and acting impulsively. When defending Jesus against the military people who had come to take Him away for trial, St. Peter cut off the ear of the high priest with his sword. We don’t want to “cut off anyone’s ear,” so to speak, with our manner of speaking so that they cannot hear our message. There is also a Proverb that tells us that “A soft answer turns away wrath.”

But as a parent, I can tell you that there comes a time when the nice, conciliatory, calm voice no longer gets through to your kids, and you need to put your foot down and let your kids know that you aren’t doing stand-up comedy. When my children are in clear and present danger, I don’t patiently and kindly reason with them. I raise my voice at them and try to get them out of harm’s way as quickly as possible. There simply is no time for me to get down on their level and explain why they must not run out into the road or touch that hot stove.

My children can and do “tone police” me, as many critics “tone police” Matt Walsh, Dr. Peterson, et al. But briefly hurt feelings from being warned are not to be compared to the pain that would result from refusing to heed warnings. Whether or not those warnings are delivered in a pleasant tone of voice is quite simply beside the point.

Anger in and of itself is not inherently evil; it is often a righteous response to evil. It is what we choose to do with that anger that can quickly turn evil. Mrs. Whatsit said to Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, when the young people were facing down world-destroying evil: “Stay angry, little Meg. … You will need all your anger now.” St. Paul exhorted, “In your anger, do not sin [do not miss the mark].”

I daresay that if Jesus Christ, St. Peter, St. Paul, Moses, and all of the Old Testament prophets, were alive today, we would find them even more angry, irascible, and strident than we find Matt Walsh, Dr. Peterson, et al. Would we discredit the Sermon on the Mount if we heard Jesus denouncing the Pharisees with the words “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” Would we refuse His healing gifts if we had seen him overthrow the tables of the money changers? Perhaps we would think him “mean” when he told St. Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan”?

Perhaps we would think St. Paul’s sufferings of shipwreck, imprisonment, beatings, and starvation not quite as painful as our hurt feelings if we read the Epistles to the Romans. In which St. Paul exhorted his brethren to quit judging and setting at naught their brethren, as though those stern words were written to us. Perhaps we would think St. John’s sufferings as an exile upon the isle of Patmos as nothing at all compared to the imaginary “harm” that would result if we took the Addresses to the Seven Churches as seriously as we take the horoscope and the latest “woke” ideology.

When we dismiss the words of Matt Walsh, Jordan Peterson, et al as “angry and irascible,” we excuse ourselves from the responsibility to engage with them. Perhaps it is time we ask ourselves a frightening question: what is happening in our world to make these fatherly men so angry? Is it possible we should be angry, too?

Perhaps we would be wise not to discredit the work and legacy of these speakers because we do not care for their tone of voice. Perhaps, we could prevent a good deal of catastrophe and heartache in the future if we listened to their voices. Even when they sound angry.