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The Many Faces of an Angry Old Man
Reveal the turmoil within his soul
All fair-use photos of a public-domain debate were captured by the author.
Once upon a time, an Angry Old Man (AOM) debated a woman almost 20 years his junior for 90 minutes. That period is far too long for an elderly never-gentleman to contain his bile.
The effects of his anger, narcissism, self-delusion, encroaching dementia, and lifetime of self-indulgence were on full display not only in his words but also in his facial expressions.
The Old Angry Face
This is the eponymous “go-to” face of the AOM. Anger is never pretty on any face, but especially on a very old person when it invades the rightful dwelling space of wisdom.
The Unhappy Face
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow tells us, “Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.” This message is lost on the AOM. Perhaps he was never adequately educated.
The Lying Face
This face was apparent whenever the AOM’s lips moved.
The Nonsense Face
A popular face used when describing outlandish conspiracy theories, non-existent accomplishments, and crowd size.
The Clown Face
This face often emerges when the AOM is forced to listen to facts inconsistent with his fantasy world.
The Attack Face
Also known as the “You-Don’t-Deserve-to-Be-in-My-Exalted-Presence” face, only oligarchs and dictators have never seen this face.
The Whining Blame Face
This very popular face is the result of never taking personal responsibility for any development that is not positive. One has to wonder how one of advanced age can resort to this face so frequently.
Unused and Unseen Faces
The Happy Face — The AOM is never happy
The Wise Face — How can one so old be so foolish?
The Truthful Face — Not completely unseen, this face occasionally sneaks onto the AOM’s face by accident. Its brief appearance only occurs prior to the dominant emergence of the lying face as a sprinkling of truth “seasons” yet another whopper.
The Humble, Patient Face — Humility requires some degree of realization we humans are all fallible imperfect beings whose efforts are just a small portion of a great communal effort. Demagogues struggle with this realization.
The Negative Face
Not so much a specific face in and of itself, the negative face is the foundation upon which all the other faces are built. Unfortunately, when one’s power and support is based on inciting anger, there is little hope that the intrinsic negativity will ever wane.
It is sad that one who has lived so long remains so angry. The therapeutic and necessary about-face is extremely unlikely, even in the improbable event that the AOM must face the music. He’ll only double down on his anger to save face.
