A now-famous local incident raised the multi-tasking issue recently. At Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee’s town hall meeting to discuss health care, a woman rose to speak about her cancer and its treatment. Jackson-Lee’s cell phone rang , and she turned away from the woman to take the call. Worse, she continued to talk on the phone as the woman stuttered and the audience began cat-calling.

Questioned later, Jackson-Lee said she was “multi-tasking”. She didn’t mention anything about inattention, disrespect or lack of seriousness.

I know this. If multi-tasking means writing or reading while the clothes dryer and dishwasher are running, I can do it. If multi-tasking means talking on the speaker phone in the kitchen while I’m cooking dinner, listening to television and talking to Mom, all at the same time, it’s a losing proposition all the way around.

As for thinking… I hate to admit it, but I don’t think I fully understood the difference between “smart” and “thoughtful” until well past my years of formal schooling. Because I could remember bushels of facts and tested well, I was considered “smart”. But thoughtful? That’s harder – much harder.

One thing blogging’s done for me is force me to do more thinking about my own convictions and about the world. In fact, one of my earliest blogs was entitled, “Reading, Writing and Thinking: A Paradigm for Blogging”. I offered one ironclad rule – more thinking, fewer words – and then added this:

“As I write, I continually edit, and my editing process is concerned with far more than correct spelling and grammar. I edit for clarity of thought, for logical consistency and personal conviction as well. Because I want my words to be a direct expression of who I am – because I want them to be true, in the fullest sense of that word – I’m forced to think to be sure my writing does the job.”

Your other important point concerns context. Decontextualization is a primary reason “talking points” and “sound bites” are so irritating, useless and dangerous.

For years “informed consent” was associated primarily with medical procedures. To continue in that vein, I’d say your diagnosis is spot-on. Now, if only we could determine the correct treatment.