Outrage is having a moment. It’s loud, fashionable, and socially rewarded. For the first time in a long time, being angry at power has become acceptable, even encouraged, in mainstream American life. What’s striking isn’t that people are angry now, it’s how narrow that anger often is, how carefully aimed, and how easily it’s switched on and off depending on the political weather. Let's be honest, outrage is in style, but only when convenient.
If outrage were applied consistently rather than conveniently, Americans would have been furious long before Donald Trump ever appeared on a debate stage, and long before ICE became a household acronym. The United States has always offered its citizens ample reason to be outraged. What’s changed isn’t the behavior of power, it’s who people feel socially permitted to criticize.
