That may have been pretty accurate, but I think I oversimplified myself a bit. The things that make me angry are the things I find important. I would like to think that I wouldn't allow myself to get overly emotional about petty, trivial things that have no major impact on anyone. I know very well that I wouldn't be posting about my feelings of betrayal because I wasn't invited to this or the other thing, or that Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie just can't get along. If something pisses me off, it is because I find it to be damaging to someone, or in some cases, everyone.
That being said, what I find repugnant is the intellectual laziness and outright distrust (or even hatred) of science and intellectualism that I see in people every day. In fact, the vast majority of times that I am engaged intellectually or philosophically by people in my everyday life (outside my regular circle of friends), it is in a way that slaps intellectualism in the face. People have, especially since the advent of email, developed a great fondness for taking bits and pieces of fact and philosophy and framing it around things that they have already believed their entire lives and saying, "AHA! Even the great intellectual community agrees with me!" People have no interest in being challenged or learning new things. The only interest they have in higher thought is quoting it to further their agenda. No original thoughts, just (usually out of context) quotes around a simplistic lesson of their liking. THIS DISGUSTS ME.
No one wants to discuss the merits of their position, consider the opposing view in depth, or write an ORIGINAL thought. There is also, apparently, no need to view anything with skepticism. "Everything they said in this email that reaffirmed my opinions must be true. No need to think about it further, or god forbid, fact check." They have interesting chain emails to think for them. These casual dips into psuedo-intellectualism serve as nothing but emotional masturbation, and are usually followed by the unstoppable need to share the experience with others - but not over a conversation, just a forward or something. If, on a rare occasion it is over a conversation, any challenge of the topic is viewed as "rude" or "negative".
My number one priority here is analysis - honest, skeptical, analysis.
