There are individuals whose actions never fail to amuse when impartially viewed. The humor is decidedly lost when you’re at the wrong end of the equation. But such is life.
An example is someone who repeatedly ignores requests made by someone else to be acknowledged as being on the same planet, let alone be engaged in conversation or action, until the one trying to get the first person’s attention barks out of frustration. The first person will respond to this… by criticizing the other person’s rudeness.
Uh-huh.
A variation of this is the person who’ll complain about their headache while you’re standing in front of them desperately attempting to tighten a tourniquet with your teeth before you bleed to death courtesy of a severed artery in your arm. Slight exaggeration, but you get the idea: the one whose sole focus is on their being, believing they alone are the star of the show with no note made of how the supporting cast… er, others are doing.
I’m currently working on an invention certain to bring me unlimited material wealth. It’s a remote controlled airborne spotlight. Just clip the transmitter somewhere on your person and it’ll hover a few feet over you wherever you go, shining brightly so everyone can see you are the focal point of it all. Unfortunately, I’ve run into a snag: how to keep multiple spotlights from running into each other when two people in the same general space both insist on having one, then keep cranking up the light intensity so theirs shines brighter. Perhaps a special Spinal Tap version is in order. “My light goes to eleven!”
Anyway, the above snarkiness is tied into what was mentioned the other day concerning the ill-advised nature of isolation. It is possible to simultaneously be the center of attention with hordes of followers and compatriots and be in self-imposed exile. In fact, it’s quite easy.
There’s a lot of this running rampant in politics these days, most noticeably from those on the periphery of the realm: pundits professional and amateur along with minor league activists who often are the aforementioned amateur pundits. They excel at the mutual admiration society game, forming cliques of clucking hens huddled together as they convince each other they’re making a difference for everyone yet all the while shunning any who are in the least bit different. Meanwhile, the farmer goes about his business paying them no mind.
Aside from the self-delusion aspect, such a mindset is anathema to one following Christ. As has been said before, the Prince of Peace trumps politics every time. If indeed our world view is rooted in Jesus, this should immediately place numerous mindsets and behaviors off limits while mandating others.
Guess into which category cliquishness falls.
There are few things more frustrating than dealing with someone with whom you agree yet is such an ass in how they conduct themselves they might as well be on the other side of a blood feud. Those who lack the common courtesy to ever respond to e-mails or tweets are, for lack of a better way of putting it, asses. Especially when their demeanor is one of (ahem) “suggesting” you kiss theirs because they are so fundamentally awesome. And important. They must be. Can’t you see how many followers they have on Twitter and site visits on their blog? Didn’t you see their name and photos all over the most recent group tongue bath a/k/a weekend seminar?
People are free to revolve their worlds around themselves if they wish. Strike a pose as the people’s champion while you’re at it. However, don’t be surprised if not only do at least a few other people not follow suit, they call you out for being a fraud.
