Now Everybody's a Drama Queen

Sunday, January 23, 2011

First, a correction. Last week, I wrote that Sen. Rand Paul, son of Congressman Ron Paul, was named after 1950s novelist Ayn Rand, whose long-winded, preachy novels are big among what the tea party likes to think of as its "intellectual" wing. Ron Paul is an avowed fan as well, but Rand is not, it seems, named after her. It's just a coincidence. We regret the error.

Now on to your regularly scheduled -column. My friends, there is an epidemic of addiction sweeping America. It is, I firmly believe, the root cause of the angry and violent rhetoric that everyone's been talking about the past few weeks.

This addiction has divided us, polarized us, and damaged our nation. I'm talking about our addiction to Drama, with a -capital D. We've become a nation of hysterical teenage Drama queens for whom every issue is The Most Important Thing In the World to Me Ever, and every denial or obstacle triggers a tantrum in which it is tearfully asserted that You've Ruined My Life, I Hate You, and I Wish You Were Dead.

To a political Drama addict, everything is a Threat to America's Very Existence. The loss of a Senate election may require an armed insurrection (aka "Second Amendment remedies") to save the Republic from "tyranny," because if "ballots don't work, bullets will."

If the presidential candidate you don't like wins the election, he's a "usurper" who's probably not even a real American, and we must fight him to Save the Constitution and Take Our Country Back Before Our Entire Way of Life is Destroyed. A health care bill you don't like means that your special-needs baby may be euthanized by order of shadowy "death panels."

And so on.

Sad to say, there are those on the left who seem addicted to Drama as well. (I'm talking about the real left, not the notch just to the left of center where the president actually resides, and which most right-wingers mistake for the real left.)

In the short time between the election of President Obama and his inauguration, I quit reading some of my favorite blogs in disgust because they were overrun with liberal Drama queens, crying out that there was No Difference Between Obama and Bush, that We Are Betrayed, and I'll Never Vote for a Democrat Again.

The catalyst for this overwrought opera of betrayal and electoral revenge? The selection of evangelist Rick Warren, who's said ignorant things about gay people, to deliver the invocation at the inauguration ceremony. Hey, I'm not crazy about the guy either, but I wasn't ready to write off Obama's entire presidency before it began over a two-minute prayer.

It's amazing that a country so addicted to Drama in its politics managed to elect as president a man who's famous for his abstinence from that intoxicant. He's made "No Drama" an ironclad rule for his staff.

This, you may remember, drew no end of criticism from both right and left during the BP oil spill, when the president of the United States failed to break down and weep or to "yell and scream" as the press clearly wanted him to do.

It's hard to break ourselves of Drama addiction. For one thing, there are so many people pushing it, including a famous talk show host who only stops weeping long enough to feverishly sketch out history-spanning conspiracy theories on his chalkboard, spinning a web of Nefarious Threats to Our Way of Life that would make Dan Brown go "nah, too far-fetched."

Another titles a regular segment of his show "The Worst Person in the World." (The difference, I'll admit, is that Keith Olbermann, in his ham-handed way, is trying to be funny. I stress the word "trying.")

Like all pushers, they do it for the money. You don't get a fat contract with cable news or talk radio for being reasonable. You don't get a million views for your YouTube video by filming yourself saying "I respectfully disagree." Push a little Drama, though, and you can get millions to inject a big ol' hit of that sweet, sweet hysteria into their veins, and my Lord, how the money rolls in.

Maybe we need a 12-step program for Drama addiction, with meetings and everything. "Hi, my name's John, and I'm a Drama queen. Yesterday I burst into tears on camera over closing a corporate tax loophole."

Until that day, I'll just keep making fun of them.

Dusty Rhoades lives, writes and practices law in Carthage. Contact him at dustyr@nc.rr.com.

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SH59 2 years, 4 months ago

Very balanced article Dusty, thank you. This reminds me of children who don't get what they want and throw tantrums to get all the attention. Bad parenting. Remember when one person complained about people selling things in West End at the old Stanley place and all of a sudden people freaked and no one was allowed to set up there any more? Why did one complaint cause such a radical response? What happened to the idea that maybe if there were several complaints it could be addressed but instead something had to be done right away to placate that ONE person. We are giving people this power and it's our leaders who have to adopt a more reasonable approach to their reactions.

moonchild7 2 years, 4 months ago

I enjoyed your article very much and how it seems to fit the current state of the absolute "Over-Dramatization" of just about everything these days. Everyone thinks they are as talented as the best actors in Hollywood while they of course aren't. Talking and texting on cell phones while driving or shopping for toothpaste to make others think they are just SO IMPORTANT makes me very angry at their STUPIDITY! They are killing people in cars with this selfish drama! They are falling into water fountains in malls while texting and then suing the mall! Glenn Beck is the worst...he has made sure to "PREACH" to his followers that they need to be ready to "SHOOT" them(the lefties)in the head before they shoot you! He's speaking about Liberals of course who he makes sure his followers know will soon begin to bust their doors in and take their guns and force SOCIALISM down their throats. This man is inciting riots with his out of control rants because the people who watch his show don't have the ability to REASON the difference between TRUTH and DRAMA. He can't be made fun of anymore Dusty, because he is dangerous. Frances Fox Piven has been "TARGETED" by Beck as a Communist who must be stopped. She is a 75 yr old Professor at CUNY who sometimes writes for THE NATION and Beck claims she is almost the ANTI-CHRIST. She's now had death threats to her life. Keith Olberman is no longer with us. I'm going to really miss his Worst Person in the World, since he was usually always right on with his choices. After the Mistress of "THE ARMED and DANGEROUS" crazy crowd, Michelle Bachmann, delivers her TEA PARTY RESPONSE tonight I'm sure Keith would have picked her for all three worst persons but now I'll just have make them up myself.

theonewithsense 2 years, 4 months ago

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MikeNC 2 years, 4 months ago

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teufelhunden 2 years, 4 months ago

Glad you finally owned up to it DR.

Zinfendale 2 years, 3 months ago

Actually, he didn't. He said it was a "coincidence" which is also a lie. Rand is short for Randall. Two totally different names; nothing coincidental about it.

MikeNC 2 years, 4 months ago

You speak of "Over-Dramatization"; and then shoot into hyperspace with your own personal vile & hate speech; loaded with exagerations. And with kudo's for Keith Olberman...LOL Any other Drama you want to share moonchild....Mike

moonchild7 2 years, 4 months ago

You see MikeNC, where is my "Over-Dramatization"? Where is my vile & hate speech? I have NOT expressed any violent action to be taken out on any other person. Not even Glenn. I watched several times the video of Glenn Beck telling people to "shoot them in the head before they shoot you." They are not a figment of my imagination. He said those things and put them on film! He does it for "the shock value" but the problem is that there are way too many unstable wacko's out there who will take their guns and pre-empt the "Coming of the Lefties!" I totally believe in the First Amendment but after years of harassment from the FCC over the "SEXUAL CONTENT" of his radio shows Howard Stern went to Sirius radio in outer space! Yet Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh can spew VIOLENT HATE and more HATE on the airwaves and receive no fines or censorship. Howard Stern was CENSORED and HEAVILY FINED because of SEXUAL REMARKS yet we now have guys and girls on the radio talk about killing people in very serious tones and have the FCC do nothing! The paranoid element out there is outrageous. Very very sick society we live in. The HATEFUL DRAMA is on your side MikeNC. I am spaced out on LOVE.

Bflat 2 years, 4 months ago

Certain media like TV actually promotes all that drama with capital D. For example, who cared whether Brittny was in public without undies for the 50th time? Maybe short fans, and we didn't need to be bombarded with that kind of report every time we turned on the tube. It's almost like there is no other news worth broadcasting unless it is Drama. Actually many people got tired of all the repeated stuff about the BP oil spill. Just clean up the mess and get it overwith, don't wait on studies of impact while a zillion gallons is pouring into the water. The comedians get their Top 10 right just about every time when it involves Drama that has been pushed a bit too far.

MikeNC 2 years, 4 months ago

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Bflat 2 years, 4 months ago

James may be a short fan. :))

OldPilot 2 years, 4 months ago

The hyperpersons responding in hyperventalating hyperbole to this column in hyperspeed prove the point! Everyone needs to sit down with an adult beverage, take a deep breath, smoke 'em (whatever 'em might be) if you wish, relax, try to see the humor in the situation, have a good laugh, and slowly, slowly regain your sanity. "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane"..thank you Jimmy Buffet!

moonchild7 2 years, 4 months ago

Why MikeNC do I not have any idea of what I'm talking about? I'm NOT on drugs, I'm NOT incompetent, I'm NOT delusional, and I'm NOT feeding myself HATE FILLED BRAIN ROT! I also am NOT spreading "Tripe". Good Ole' Glenn the "SUPER-QUEEN of DRAMA" these dazes has his acting down pat. He made sure he only "tantalized" his devotees today by saying he was going to "CHAIN SAW a BUNNY in HALF" when he instead chain-sawed a piece of wood. Very good for ratings, very bad for the unknowing who think he's GOD! DO NOT PRAY FOR ME.....BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I like talking to GOD by myself.

RmeMP 2 years, 4 months ago

what exactly is glenn beck lying about or overdramatizing - in your opinion? specifically...

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

hey rempi - hers is a small list of quotes attributed to ol glennie:

I wonder just which ones you agree with - perhaps all of them :)

"This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture....I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

"I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. ... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong? I stopped wearing my What Would Jesus -- band -- Do, and I've lost all sense of right and wrong now. I used to be able to say, 'Yeah, I'd kill Michael Moore,' and then I'd see the little band: What Would Jesus Do? And then I'd realize, 'Oh, you wouldn't kill Michael Moore. Or at least you wouldn't choke him to death.' And you know, well, I'm not sure." –responding to the question "What would people do for $50 million?",

"When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh shut up' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining." –"The Glenn Beck Program," Sept. 9, 2005

"The only [Katrina victims] we're seeing on television are the scumbags."

"I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today." –on why people who lost their homes in forest fires in California had it coming.

"I have been nervous about this interview with you because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies. ... And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way." –interviewing Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim U.S. congressman, Glen Beck's show on CNN's Headline News

"So here you have Barack Obama going in and spending the money on embryonic stem cell research. ... Eugenics. In case you don't know what Eugenics led us to: the Final Solution. A master race! A perfect person. ... The stuff that we are facing is absolutely frightening."

"You have the artwork of Mussolini there, here in New York at Rockefeller Plaza." –analyzing the artwork decorating Rockefeller Plaza, which he said contained a hammer and sickle, Glenn Beck show on FOX News Channel,

RmeMP 2 years, 3 months ago

ok... ill play your game

first paragraph - beck almost immediatly apologized and withdrew his position cliaming that he thought obama was a racist (ps - i forgot you lefties dont believe people are entitled to their personal beliefs...)

second paragraph - i ASSURE you that beck isn't the only person who has JOKINGLY stated that wish they could kill Michael Moore - but then i guess you see nothing wrong with someone hanging an effigy of sarah palin from a noose do you?

third paragraph - i dont know how this qoute was being referenced so i can not make an impartial comment on it; however, just looking at the quote and not knowing the whole story behind it - i do not agree with it nor do i think its a nice thing to say

forth paragraph - ok... so he isnt PC like the left would like him to be, but if you accept the truth you did see alot of scumbags on tv in ref to katrina - did you see any looters and rioters in the TN. floods? NO!!! was there any reports of rescue personal being SHOT AT in the TN. floods? NO!!! so if the truth hurts, then hats YOUR problem

fifth paragraph - i see nothing wrong with this.... if you hate my country and your house burns down, then no - i wont feel bad for you :)

sixth paragraph - you quoted a man who said something that EVERY HUMAN does, and its called profiling. is it wrong? no, not all the time. again, take the PC out of your brain

seventh paragraph - where is there any falacy to this quote? its the truth smartguy, it is frightening when the gov. wants to play GOD ;)

eight paragraph - again... the truth hurts you i guess; there IS IN FACT a hammer and a sickel in the artwork being prominently displayed at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York; where are you going with this one?! lol

there you have it, i took the time to break down every one of your paragraphs - one by one, and i am patiently awaiting your rebutal sir or maam

RmeMP 2 years, 4 months ago

ok moonchild -

please explain to me how awesome pivens is when she says,

“an effective movement of the unemployed will have to look something like the strikes and riots that have spread across Greece,” - do you not see that as inciting violence?

seriously?!

did you also know the following:

She is currently listed as an “Honorary Chair” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a prestigious appointment bestowed on only the most esteemed, influential, and long-serving DSA leaders. Piven was elevated to the status of honorary chair in 2003, after years of service as a DSA vice chair.

if you love socialism so much - why not go live where it is practiced instead of trying to change the GREATEST country on the face of the planet?!

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

remp - since you despise socialism so much - I am certain you wont accept medicare or social security.

i would comment that you have been brainwashed - but that presumes......ooops - don't want to get censored here!

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

wow - that is some retort - kinda like "sticks and stones".

btw - regardless of whether or not you have paid into them - they are STILL social programs. You righties find fault in everything and rarely have any solutions!

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

james:

wingnut
n. An outspoken, irrational person with deeply-held, nominally conservative, political views. A person who chooses on principle to be flagrantly ignorant. A "right-wing nut". Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Fred Phelps are examples of the wingnut element in modern America. wingnuttery nut freeper uber-christian tinfoil hat by Carl Willis Feb 18, 2006 share this
wingnut 186 up, 92 down

(noun) A person appearing to be moderately to severely crazy, disoriented, majobling, see Majoble, jumbled and more often than not, a total mess. A wingnut is a constant source of entertainment to those surrounding it and can easily be found in any type of setting or venue. Example: grocery stores, sporting events, cross-walks, public transportation, school, work…you may even have one in your house.

sounds like a many of "us" here :)

Bflat 2 years, 4 months ago

The article says people over dramatize everything, so let's all chill.

hotdiggity 2 years, 3 months ago

Obama has a 'No Drama' rule? Remember when he and family flew down to the Gulf and went swimming to show that it was safe to go into the water? Sort of reminded me of that scene in "Jaws" when the mayor told the town police to get in the water to show that it was safe from the shark.

MikeNC 2 years, 3 months ago

I remember that well...he took the family to Panama City, waded around in the water and declared the beaches are open for business. It was reassuring to the American public as he chose to vacation in waters that were unaffected by the oil spill. Moral of any political story is to watch and act upon what they actually do...and NOT on what they say....Mike

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

and just what do you think he "should" have done - i am curious to hear your wisdom!

MikeNC 2 years, 3 months ago

Gone to where the actual oil problem was at the time...NOT Panama City.....Mike

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

Me thinks he DID visit the site. Perhaps you think he should have stayed on and did some of the actual repair!

He tried to help a states tourism by doing what he did.

I swear - you conservatives would criticize him if he farted too loudly.

RmeMP 2 years, 3 months ago

maybe one less trip to marthas vineyard or hawaii?

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

hey rempi - did you complain when ol georgie spent months at a time at his ranch while president?

Ross 2 years, 3 months ago

perhaps he should have worked on the leak with BP. Ill bet you are blaming him because he never had experience on an oil well.

i feel for the army if you are an mp!

MikeNC 2 years, 3 months ago

Moonchild, As far as Beck talking about shooting leftists, you have taken it out of context to suit your needs. He was referring to the two leftists in our society today. Those who "come in sheep's cloths" pretending they want peaceful change, when in reality it is change through violence and the leftists who basically want the same end but through peaceful means. Frances Piven and her deceased husband, fit the first category of Leftists. I have found reference to this in a number of the left web sites. She is about as meek as Mao was. She advocates bringing down capitalism and crushing the government by imposing impossible demands. She can't understand why "the poor" haven't taken to the streets like they have in Greece. (The demonstrations there, are anything but PEACEFFUL.) I equate her rational to SDS and their Underground branch. The Kent State riots, started out peacefully until SDS sent some of their people in. I was there, I saw it ! Diane

nothingspecial 2 years, 3 months ago

I can think of no greater example of "drama" (in terms of emotions and impressions and "hope" outweighing reason) in recent history that matches that of the Democratic Party's two front runners for the presidency in 2008: An ex-president's spouse and one of the most junior senators. I don't for instance think there is a comparison with the nomination of the Republican VP during that same period.

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Now Everybody's a Drama Queen

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