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America's Anger and Fear Epidemic

According to a new USA Today study, the share of Americans who report feeling angry or irritable has surged from 50 percent just two years ago to 60 percent today. A Harvard Medical School study from 2012 found that nearly two-thirds of American teens admit to having anger attacks involving the destruction of property, threats of violence, or engaging in violence.

"Some are describing this as 'America's anger epidemic,' " says one New York news website. It cites unemployment, the economy, and for those who have work, overworking, as contributing factors.

But we're not only angry. We're also afraid … of one another. "For four decades," reports the Associated Press, "a gut-level ingredient of democracy—trust in the other fellow—has been quietly draining away. These days, only one-third of Americans say most people can be trusted. Half felt that way in 1972." The AP article concludes, "Forty years later, a record high of nearly two-thirds say 'you can't be too careful' in dealing with people."

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