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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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January 10th, 2005 WHAT DO SANTA CLAUS, "THE ALMIGHTY" AND A.D.D. HAVE IN COMMON?
"I'm suffering from A.D.D. and it is real, you're wrong," they'll say. "Ritalin does calm my kid down and it's not harmful," will say another. "I'm in medical school as we speak and you guys are all wrong about this," will say a third. You get the idea. First, some background; I have been crusading against the epidemic of over-diagnosing A.D.D. for years. While I acknowledge that there are some people and children whose brains work in abnormal ways and make life more difficult for them in some areas, I do not believe that drugging those people is the answer. More importantly, my main concern is the absurd rate at which we give people excuses in society using this A.D.D. crap. Parents bring hyper 4 year olds to their doctor and everyone claims A.D.D., not even bothering to acknowledge that ALL four year olds are hyper and not even bothering to take a close look at dieting and parenting issues. (And why should we? I After all, look at how parents are feeding and/or raising children in America…that would require personal responsibility which is sorely lacking in this society). Invariably every time this discussion rears its head on our show I am inundated later with e-mails from parents who have seen the light, taken their kids off the drugs and seen marked improvements in their children. Those e-mails literally warm my heart so keep 'em coming, as they remind me to keep up the fight. Mostly, though, I have to deal with idiots like the ones quoted above. Which brings us the following exercise: Have you ever seen the look on a child's face the first time you try to explain to him that there is no Santa Claus? Have you ever attempted to tell a devoutly religious person that there is no God?
Why is it that a child that believes in Santa and a god-fearing Christian can't bear to hear that they may be wrong? For the same reasons that an A.D.D. patient can't bear to accept the possibility of not having the alleged disease; because they have placed their entire meaning for existing on something other than themselves. A small child lives the entire year on the hopes he'll make Santa's "nice" list. It's even used as a bribe by his parents in July. "If you don't stop running around the pool, Santa's going to put coal in your stocking this year," will say a parent. It's a fine, harmless childhood fantasy used to motivate until the age of reason kicks in. But if a kid finds out too soon that Santa is fake, his world comes crashing down around him. Obviously, this kid has no desire to even entertain the notion that a gift giving Fat man may not exist at this point in his life. Who will he be nice for? Certainly not himself, because he's always done it for Santa. A Devoutly religious person lives life for his savior, not himself. His actions are dictated by a creed sent down from above that dictates a series of behaviors which will determine his existence in the afterlife. His creed also allows him to blame others when he screws up (well, I guess it was God's will), and never take credit for his own accomplishments (Thank you Jesus for allowing me to catch that touchdown pass). Obviously, this religious person has no desire to even entertain the notion that an almighty may not exist. If that were to be true, who would this person live for? Certainly not himself, because he's always done it for God. A person who has been told and now believes that he or his child has Attention Deficit Disorder has similarly been granted full immunity in the Personal Responsibility Protection Plan. This person, prior to going to the doctor, felt as though he was never capable of motivating himself, completing a task, concentrating and controlling his energy levels. Now with the diagnosis, all of that has changed and he is allowed to blame the disease when he screws up (Damn that A.D.D, I just can't concentrate on this math problem) and never take credit for his accomplishments (thanks to Ritalin I'm able to fill the French fry basket with precision accuracy). Obviously, this A.D.D. patient has no desire to even entertain the notion that he's been allowing himself with the diagnosis. Certainly this person doesn't want to hear that ALL of us have trouble concentrating and completing tasks, but some of us find ways to overcome those hurdles without drugs. If any of that were to be true, who would this person live for? Certainly not himself, because he's learned to either live thanks to a drug, or decided not to live and blame it on his lot in life (the disease). The good news is that I have every reason to believe that we have finally turned the tide and are beginning to win this war. It will take another generation, but more and more people are recognizing the falsehoods of many (most) of these A.D.D. claims and more and more people are working to stop these rampant mis-diagnoses. Try to remember, by the way, that titles do not mean facts. Just because someone is a doctor doesn't mean they're right about everything in medicine. In facts, in some cases, a person's prominence in a field can make them the least qualified person as opposed to the most (that's where the expression "too close to the forest to see the trees," comes from). In 1991 thousands of doctors rampantly wrongly diagnosed what later proved to be "Gulf War Syndrome," rather than properly saying they didn't know what was wrong with all of these people coming to them with similar symptoms. Group think is real and you need to avoid it like the plague…but make sure you have a qualified doctor diagnose whether or not you actually have the plague (insert Har-har here).
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