Insulation

Ever notice how angry and excitable people can be? Or how so many people say things in some company that they would rarely or never say to or about the person/people about which they speak? This is especially noticeable with many people around election time, but that situation is more of an outlier to relative to the sensation being described here. The general symptoms include things such as railing against the problems of "other people" with no regard for how they themselves might be part of the problem, screaming at people in the car because traffic is stopped, etc.

A theory on one potential cause: many Americans live in a constant state of background noise with very little real interaction. Wake up in the morning at your own home, get in your car with your coffee, go to work and never really interact with another person or face or own humanity.
We are all too busy to get out of our protective forts or home, automobile and building that we miss so much. Please don't miss what's going on all around you.

Go for a walk. Go to the park. Turn off your cell phone for a while, and realize your body is a soft, breakable shell.

Watch it. Laugh.

My wife used to get mad when I talked about Politics with friends. Now I can't get her to stop watching the conventions. She's a dang Campaign Nazi. The video above helps keep us laughing through the posturing.

There are plenty of dumb people at FOX News...

But this man could be the dumbest. Tonight while flipping through the channels, Geraldo could be seen exclaiming in a loud voice about the craziness of Hurricane Gustav. The worst was some footage from a bridge with the camera trained on a man (who looked calm and under control) in the water with a life jacket working on a light pole. Geraldo was screaming "Oh my God, there's a man in the water! I'm gonna tell the police."

Walk two steps to also calm police officer.

"There's a man in the water. He's stranded (repeats approximately 8 times)!!!!"

Police: "Huh?"

Moron (aka Geraldo): "There's a MAN in the WAAAATER!!!"

Police: "mumble mumble" (totally nonplussed)

Camera zooms out and shows Man in lifejacket begins swimming toward the boat (about 30 feet away) by himself, still calm and under control.

Geraldo: "The man is swimming !!!! (failed attempt at pregnant pause)

Man arrives at boat safely

Geraldo: "He got a lifeline.....Oh my God."

Three words: Don't watch Geraldo.