America: Why So Furious?

With town halls gone mad and anti-Obama protesters toting guns, this is America’s angriest summer in recent memory, McClatchy reports. The fury of voters has deep roots, from a long history of hate groups to anti-Vietnam marches to rage against George W. Bush when he left office—but it’s only intensified under Barack Obama. Town halls "were the most visible sign of something that may be larger," one expert says.

Fear of immigrants, terrorism, and a sinking economy are likely driving the anger, which has sparked 50 new militias and enough tax-refusnicks that the IRS created a National Tax Defier Initiative last year. Meanwhile, new technologies are quickly spreading anti-government conspiracies—like the belief that Washington is using 30,000 guillotines to harvest body parts. "In '94, you had talk radio," one expert says. "In '09, you have talk radio, Fox, and the Internet.”
(More anger stories.)