What Are We Thinking?????

Making the insignificant significant

by Thomas Lindaman
04/01/05

As big of an optimist as I am, there are times when I positively wonder whether it's worth putting on my pants and being a productive member of our society. (Note to my readers: If you plan to go out in public, it's usually worth at least putting on pants.) There are times I scratch my head and wonder what we're thinking, or even if we're thinking.

A great example is the Terri Schiavo case. Ever since I started researching the facts a few months ago to have an informed decision, I have been talking about it and what I've found. Most people, however, weren't interested. You know who they were talking about?

Scott Peterson and Martha Stewart.

No matter how many times I tried to shift the conversation to the Schiavo case, which had more legal and moral implications than the two aforementioned cases, people still wanted to talk about whether Scott killed Lacie and Conner or why Martha got such a harsh sentence. And after Scott's trial was over, here comes Michael Jackson, willing to fill up the useless attention deficit left in the wake of Scott's conviction. (By the way, is it just me or does Scott look a lot like Ben Affleck?)

See, now I'm doing it. People seem to be obsessed with celebrity, even celebrity by way of infamy. It didn't do my heart much good to hear that as soon as Scott Peterson was in prison, guards were taking messages for him from women who wanted to marry him! Oh yeah. This guy kills his wife and son and he's a catch. I haven't done anything worse than get a speeding ticket and I'm slightly below the guy who played Jerry's dad on "Seinfeld"? And he's dead!!!!!

Seriously, I have to question the thinking of some people's choice in subjects to discuss. We recently saw the outbreak of freedom in the Middle East, which is pretty big in my book, but few people aside from the Bush supporters said anything about it. Most average people don't understand enough about the situation in the Middle East to get the importance of the issue because, as I've seen some people say when defending why they spent more time talking about Martha Stewart than the Middle East, "it's too big. We need a diversion."

Of course, I can appreciate that point of view. I know I'm not super serious 100% of the time…or even 50% of the time…okay, I'm more likely to attend an Air America dinner party than I am to be serious. But when the diversion overtakes the significant, the two get reversed, and the significant gets ignored more often than not. Think of it in terms of a child being photographed. When a child is fussy or doesn't want to sit still, the photographer will take out a stuffed animal or a squeaky toy to get the child's attention so the photograph can be taken. The child may be tired, wet, or have some other reason why he or she doesn't want to be photographed, but once the toy comes out, those reasons melt away because of the diversion.

But we shouldn't be letting the "big" stuff slip out of our fields of vision. It may be easier to buy into what the media tell us is important, and a lot of us have, but it doesn't make the "big" stuff go away, no matter how many times you close your eyes, stick your fingers in your ears, and say "Lalalalalalalalalala." It's intellectually dishonest and cowardly, and we're supposed to be above that. Besides, doing that in public will make people look at you strangely. Especially if you're not wearing pants when you do it.

Yet, whenever I get to a point when I'm ready to cash in my chips and start subletting the Unabomber's old shanty, something happens that keeps me engaged, at least for the short term. I have some great family members and online friends who keep me tethered to society for no other reason than because they care about me and value my opinions. (Well, that and the fact I owe them money.) And thanks to them, my batteries get energized and I keep plugging away.

So, let me make an appeal for sanity here. (Boy, that's like asking Donald Trump for hints on running a successful casino.) I know there's a lot out there to take in and process. But you should at least make the effort. And when you view as much as you can of both the important and the inconsequential, you will make smarter decisions and give each issue the consideration it warrants.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go post on a message board about whether Commander Adama of "Battlestar Galactica" could kick Captain Kirk's ass in a fight.

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