Attention Deficit Disorder

Most of us want attention, even if we claim otherwise. We want to believe that we are worthy of attention. So, when someone rants and raves about an oppressive government or the prying eyes of big brother, maybe it’s because if government is oppressing them it means they are worthy of attention. You only oppress someone that would otherwise amount to something. Maybe they secretly hope that big government is prying into their affairs, because it would mean that there was at least a chance that their affairs were interesting. When someone goes on about how we are the greatest country in the world, maybe they recognize that their lives are completely average, at best, and are seeking to identify themselves as part of a group that is worth paying attention to. Maybe people say silly things (like saying the President was born in Kenya) because they think that makes them worthy of attention. Maybe people are nasty to one another because they feel that there is interest in conflict. The Tea Party seems a little more understandable if you think about it as the result of a national attention deficit disorder epidemic. Then maybe we could just pay some more attention to these folks, or hand out lots of Ritalin.