Our country has always had to deal with special interest groups. In the Revolutionary War, it was Patriots versus Loyalists. In the new republic it was Federalism (strong central government) versus State’s Rights.
The Civil War was essentially a failure of special interest groups to reconcile. While we condemn the Confederacy desire to perpetuate an economy based on slavery (special interest group personified), we have no business extolling the virtue of the northern abolitionist – their distaste for slavery derived simply from the fact that slavery was not a practical economic model in the north. This special interest group, however, had no trouble developing and tolerating the sweat shop economic model; worse, in its own way, than slavery.
In our modern era, special interest groups can be rich and manipulative (Trial Lawyers Association, for example) or poorly funded and altruistic (SPCA, for example). They can be well organized with a clear agenda, or widespread and vague.
One problem I have with Special Interest groups is their almost universal demand for FOCUS on their individual issue. At a recent press conference, a person arose to ask Senator Rubio, an evangelical Christian presidential candidate, what he would do for people like himself, the questioner, an atheist. He closed with the question “What will you do to focus on people like us?”
When African Americans, in response to recent horrible shootings of noncombative black men, took up placards stating ‘Black Lives Matter,’ they were essentially asking for a focus on the issue.
This all sounds fine, and I would defend the actions of all such groups. My concern is about the demand, stated or otherwise, for FOCUS. Look at the denotative definition of the word and it squares with our normal concept: ‘please look closely at this issue we have.’
The connotative definition becomes a bit more sinister: ‘please look closely at this issue to the exclusion of all else.’ Let’s take that definition and look back at the two examples. In the case of the Atheist, wanting a focus on the rights of atheists, we are asked to ignore the recent suppression of Judeo-Christian expression in our country. While I don’t know him, I suspect that the atheist asking for a focus on atheist’s rights would ridicule a Christian who asked for a focus on people of faith. Similarly, in the case of ‘Black Lives Matter,’ there was a reaction and demonstration with placards stating ‘All Lives Matter.’ There were critics of this demonstration, saying that it took the focus off of the primary problem.
Again, I want to emphasize that the above reactions are understandable and I do not criticize them. I wish, however, to call attention to the problem of focus. Of necessity, it demands inattention to larger circumstances. This induces something called Inattentional blindness. It can be quite extraordinary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo). It has been included in fiction, from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to the Academy Award winning movie ‘Bridge over the River Kwai.’
It can cause well-intentioned people to violate some of their own goals.
Let’s look at education. In trying to streamline our public education, a noble goal, educators began to jettison those school day activities that had no academic merit. Gym, or Physical Education, or playground, was one of the first to go. It also reduced the chance of a school being sued by a parent when a child got injured in physical education. It freed up the time that was spent on changing clothes and engaging in the activity. That gave time for sensitivity training.
This seemed like a win-win-win situation but strangely enough, we began to notice an explosion in the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD. The potential link was ignored. Feminists did not become concerned because the issue primarily involved boys. Educators wanted classrooms free of distraction. Solution: let’s drug these kids, thereby correcting the problem brought on by our move away from the actual daily needs for children for both physical and academic activity.
Now, we have found, to our astonishment, that ADD/ADHD (or at least the need for medication) largely disappears when the sufferers are allowed to ‘burn off some energy.’ It seems that earlier educators who included physical activity during a school day were a lot more tuned into childrens’ needs than the more modern educational elitists. They realized that which our modern educational overseers seemed to have ignored: the system exists for the student, not the other way around. The internet is full of such ‘miracles.’ (http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/riding-my-ritalin-how-one-cyclist-gained-control-over-his-adhd).
What life lesson can we derive from this? I think we need to understand that not all focus is beneficial. Let’s go back to one example: Do black lives matter? Yes. Do they matter more than other lives? No. All living humans possess a spirit that is of equal merit, equal value, and is equally loved by their Creator.
Sadly, until each of us corrects our internal ethical and moral code, we will fall victim to external focus.
Dennis Garvin
