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The Plague of Boredom |
| Section: MODERN THOUGHT / ESSAYS |
| Author: Alan Caruba |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/1998 |
| Size: 3,210 Words, 19,646 Characters |
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However, boredom is responsible for the deaths of countless people, old and young.
No less than ancient scourges of mankind like insect-or rodent-borne diseases, boredom lies at the root of many personal and social problems. It is the barely heard background music to many bad decisions in life, including the decision to take one's life.
"This island is too small for me. The climate is not like ours, it is not our sun, nor does it have our seasons. Everything breathes a mortal boredom here." That was Napoleon's complaint as he waited out his exile on St. Helena. Five years after his arrival he fell ill. Six months later he was dead.
In America today, suicide is the ninth leading cause of death. Those over age 65 commit suicide at a rate twice that of the rest of the population, and it is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. Those closest to anyone experiencing an extended period of boredom should view it as a significant warning sign that something is troubling the person and it could lead to suicide.
Boredom can and should be called the earliest stage of depression. An estimated ten million Americans suffer from depression annually. As I see it, boredom is a plague.
But surely I must be exaggerating. Maybe, after so many years of examining the impact of boredom, I just think I see it everywhere. On the other hand, perhaps it is everywhere?
LAUGHING AT BOREDOM
The Boring Institute had its beginnings in 1984 when I decided to spoof all the "best" and the "worst" of the year lists--the "Who's Hot and Who's Not" lists that fill the nation's media in December and January. It's amusing and it's pure fluff. I decided that the one list that was missing was "The Most Boring Celebrities of the Year," based on massive media overexposure.
In any given year, there's always a group of established or instant celebrities who become an obsession with media folk because they've gotten into some kind of trouble ...
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... America abounds with hundreds of thousands of organizations devoted to every aspect of life one can imagine. Get involved! Get active! And if you can't think of a group to join, volunteer to help others.
I promise you, you won't be bored if you apply these guidelines to your life. And you won't become one of the countless Americans who, right now, are suffering from the plague of boredom.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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