Opinion

OPINION: I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it any more

Published

9 years ago

August 31, 2017

For some of us movie buffs, this was the tagline that made the movie “Network” famous. To set the scene for those that have not watched the movie, a famous TV news broadcaster becomes disillusioned with the hypocrisy of the political and social situations of the times. In his despair, he has a mental melt down during a live broadcast and proceeds to share his thoughts on air of his total feeling of helplessness in correcting any of these situations. He closes the broadcast by telling everybody listening to go open their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it any more”. This one effort started a national movement that gave people a way to express their frustrations with the current affairs and instituted change in the movie.

I realize that movies are not real life but movies do imitate real life. Every so often, we can experience something like this happening similar to the movie but in the current reality of life. I have been following the efforts of a local citizen of Front Royal who decided that he was “mad as hell, and was not going to take it any more” named Mr. Len Sherp. He decided that he was going to commit his time and financial resources to express his frustrations by standing every Wednesday for several hours during the day at the gazebo holding a sign that highlights a “word” that addresses the hypocrisy of our times.

We live in world that is moving and changing so fast that one can easily feel helpless and out of control. Every day I wake up to the constant stream of news. It has become an overwhelming task to filter out the facts from fiction or the use of new terms like “alternative facts”, in determining what is right or wrong or good or bad. It has become so confusing, that we have lost what makes us great as a people when we put the party and their non-forgiving ideology before the good of the county from both political parties.

I know good things can happen when different views are brought to the table when addressing problems. We have lost our ability to respect each other’s opinion and work out solutions. When there is an attitude of only winners and losers and the constant demonization of each other, nothing gets accomplished. So I commend and support what Mr. Sherp doing is by offering all of us an opportunity to join in to express our frustrations out of our sense of being out of control during these changing of times.

Michael Graham

Front Royal, VA

Royal Examiner

OPINION: I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it any more

Opinion

OPINION: I’m mad as hell and I’m not taking it any more

American Songs Concert Coming to First Baptist Church in Front Royal on October 25

When Grief Doesn’t Ease With Time

Sudden Cardiac Arrest May Not Be As Sudden As Its Name Suggests

100 Years of Hundred Acre Wood

A Moment of Honor: Veterans Receive a Powerful Tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Samuels Public Library Invites Young Writers and Artists to Enter 48th Annual Holiday Contest

New Exhibitions Bring World-Class Contemporary Art to Downtown Front Royal

VDOT: Warren County Traffic Alert for October 19 – 23, 2026

Discover The Many Benefits Of Organized Sports

The Family Bond That Doesn’t Necessarily End When Contact Does

Virginia State Police Urge Drivers to Stop for School Buses and Students

Economic Development Director Patrick Barker Details Maturing Plan at Town-County Liaison Meeting

Virginia Breeders’ Championships Begin This Weekend at Shenandoah Downs

Local Author Invited to Share Children’s Book at Irish Castle That Inspired It

Virginia State Police Seize More Than $334,000 in Drugs, Recover Five Firearms in Weeklong Operations

Business Growth Series: Big Projects Don’t Get Done — Small Tasks Do

Data Center Moratorium Bills Stack Up Ahead of Virginia Legislative Session in January

Transgender Care for Young Patients Remains On Hold at Virginia Hospitals

Commentary: Spanberger’s Energy Plan Dazzles – and Disappoints

The Workplace Accommodation That Costs Nothing

Nothing In Dolly Parton’s Library Is Ever Returned

Trump: Execution of Fort Hood Shooter Will Not Be Livestreamed

Harmony Hollow Holler Music Festival Brings Appalachian Music to Front Royal October 17

Winsome Earle-Sears Warns of Consequences of Virginia’s Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Federal Emergency Order Aims to Prevent Power Outages Across Mid-Atlantic, Including Virginia