An Orgy of Poor Perspective

Wow, in one day this week it took me very little time to discover three news articles highlighting Americans' failure in terms of behaviors showing good perspective.

The first was the outcome of an old story.  During a youth soccer game last April, a 17-year-old player punched a referee in the head when he disagreed with a call on the field.  A week later, the man died.  The teen pleaded guilty this week to homicide and will be sent to juvenile prison for an undetermined sentence.

The next article that caught my attention began:  “Women across the U.S. are risking their lives for black market procedures to make their buttocks bigger.”  Apparently larger behinds are all the rage in hip-hop videos and considered very cool in certain social circles.  It’s not limited to women.  “Some men also seek out buttocks enhancements, but the procedures are much more popular among women.”  This is not just irresponsible behavior, like buying a $120 t-shirt to appear cool; in several instances it has resulted in death and disfigurement.

Why was I surprised by these examples of poor perspective, failing to distinguish between the important things in life and the trivial, risking one’s life for a sexier behind or taking a life over a soccer game?  I should have been tipped off that it was a bad day for perspective when the front page of my local newspaper and top of every major news website featured the headline:  “Alex Rodriguez Says 'I Am Fighting for My Life'.”  Whether Alex Rodriguez ever plays baseball again may be important to Alex, but it’s not going to change anyone else’s life significantly.  Perhaps if you are a life-long Yankees fan, and everyone in your family and all your friends are in perfect health, and you are secure in your job, and your house is not underwater, and you have no outstanding student loans, and your retirement is on track, and you have a vibrant social life, and you are at peace with your god or personal moral code, perhaps then the status of Alex night be somewhere on your list of worries.  Otherwise, for normal Americans, struggling in a down economy, at a time when the government is anticipating a possible terrorist attack, it’s a trivial situation that belongs somewhere in the sports section – not on the front page!  Are you concerned because many young boys considered A-Rod a hero?  Then it is a problem - a problem of parents not instilling the right values and perspective. 

Perspective is the ability to separate the trivial from the important.  It’s the ability to set intelligent priorities.  It’s not about sports or the size of your behind!  As long as we don’t understand this, we will not be able to move our lives or our country forward in any meaningful way.