I think anger is a good thing.

Host: The room was quiet, with the only sound being the soft buzz of the air conditioning and the occasional shift in the chairs. Outside, the city was bathed in the light of early evening, the world carrying on at its usual pace. But inside, there was a palpable tension, the kind that comes with a conversation that might dig a little deeper than expected. Jack sat at the table, his fingers wrapped around a cup of tea, his thoughts distant. Jeeny sat across from him, her posture relaxed, but her eyes sharp, sensing the shift in the air.

Jeeny: (breaking the silence, her voice calm but curious) “Steve Bannon once said, ‘I think anger is a good thing.’”

(She paused, watching Jack’s reaction.) “Do you think anger can be a good thing? Or is it something we should avoid?”

Jack: (looking up slowly, his voice thoughtful) “Anger... I don’t know. On the one hand, it’s a natural emotion. It’s human to feel angry at times, especially when you feel like something isn’t right. But I don’t think anger in itself is inherently good. It’s how we channel it that matters.”

Jeeny: (nodding, her voice steady) “Exactly. Anger can be a powerful motivator, but if it’s not managed, it can also be destructive. It’s about what you do with it, right? If you use it to fuel positive change, to stand up for something that matters, then it can be productive. But if you let it control you, it can consume everything.”

Jack: (leaning back, considering her words) “That’s the tricky part. Anger can give you the energy to act, to fight for something you believe in, but it can also cloud your judgment. It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and end up making decisions that are driven by emotion, not reason.”

Jeeny: (her voice gentle but firm) “I think the key is to recognize it. To understand why you’re angry, and to make sure that anger doesn’t lead you into a place where you lose sight of your goal. If it’s just an expression of frustration or pain, it can be a release. But if you let it become the focus, that’s when it starts to control you.”

Jack: (pausing, his expression softening) “So, it’s not about denying anger. It’s about acknowledging it, understanding it, and then choosing how to move forward with it. It’s about making sure it serves a purpose, not just tearing things down.”

Jeeny: (smiling slightly) “Exactly. Anger can be a tool for change, but it’s not the change itself. It’s the energy behind it, the push to make something happen. But it’s the choices we make after we feel that anger that define us.”

Jack: (nodding slowly, his voice quieter now) “I guess that’s why anger can be so complicated. It’s not good or bad. It’s just what you do with it that matters.”

Host: The room seemed to settle into a deeper understanding, the tension giving way to clarity. Outside, the city continued its rhythm, unaware of the quiet realization unfolding inside. Jeeny sat back, her smile soft and knowing, while Jack let the words linger in the air, knowing that anger, like all emotions, was just a part of being human — it was what you did with it that determined its impact.

Jeeny: (with a small smile, her voice gentle) “So, maybe anger isn’t something to avoid, but something to learn how to use. To direct it in a way that leads to something better.”

Jack: (smiling back, a sense of peace in his voice) “Yeah. It’s about channeling it. Understanding that it’s a part of the human experience, but it doesn’t have to define us.”

Host: The evening deepened, and the quiet in the room grew, not with discomfort, but with the sense that something had been uncovered. Anger, when recognized and understood, didn’t have to be something to fear. It could be a tool, a catalyst, for change — but only if it was handled with care, with awareness.

And in that realization, Jack knew that the true power of anger lay not in its expression, but in its direction — and that the most important thing was knowing how to use it for something constructive, for something that moved him forward, not held him back.