Our nation has been angry before.

We’ve dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. We’ve marched on Washington to fight for Civil Rights, to end a war in Vietnam we didn’t believe in, and to say women have the right to vote, people have the right to love who they want to love, and if we want to purchase and drink alcohol, that is our right.

We have been angry before. We have not agreed with the decisions of our government before. And we have been capable of finding solutions, as individuals with our own thoughts, acting together before.

Activism in this country has morphed into something totally new, embodying one of two extremes: unbridled violence or total inaction.

We are a thoughtless body that feels no personal empowerment or responsibility for the success of their country, yet always quick to place blame on others. Most of us are quick to quote our love for the Constitution because that is the American thing to do, but understand or have read very little of it.

Thursday afternoon, a woman opened fire on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The woman attempted to ram her car into the gates of the White House before getting out of her vehicle and shooting at officers in her pursuit.

While the motivation for her actions has not yet been confirmed, one can speculate that the woman was acting in frustration over the recent government shutdown.

For us, the connection is easy to make. Millennials have never seen any other form of protest; we have come to expect the reactionary violence which more than occasionally flashes across the headlines on our television sets.

But this isn’t protest; it’s useless violence.

This is violence spawned from rage. Granted, it is a rage that many of us currently feel toward our congress, our government – even each other. But actions taken under the influence of blind, reckless anger serve no purpose other than to injure, distract, and create further chaos. This type of action is futile in changing policy and has no place in productive dialogue.

It changes nothing.

But the rest of us are guilty of a different kind of inaction.

We sit in front of our computers and complain about the shutdown. We post pictures and statuses exclaiming our anger and frustration at Congress failing to do its job. But that isn’t activism – in fact, it’s the opposite.

Posting your anger over the government shutdown on Facebook or Twitter doesn’t address the problem; it only perpetuates anger – and often, stupidity.

Be knowledgeable about what’s happening in your country. Understand the issues you’re angry about before you vocalize your anger. And don’t trust everything you hear.

Verify. Engage. Empower yourself.

But most importantly, if you’re mad, be mad. Go to the gates of the White House and tell them you’re pissed off. Call your Congressmen to share your opinion and offer solutions. Come together with individuals who want change – and don’t give up until you achieve it.

But do it coherently, intelligently, and most of all, peacefully.

Our nation has been angry before. But how we choose to act upon that anger makes all the difference.