Great news for underachievers: It's not your fault! 

That's the opinion, anyway, of pediatrician Mel Levine. His new book entitled The Myth of Laziness asserts that all of us are born with an innate drive to be productive, and when some people fail to achieve, it's not due to simple laziness -- it's because of "output failure," a hard-to-define mental illness that cleverly disguises itself as a common character flaw.
                       
Honestly, I'm not making this up.

As reported in a recent MSN online article, Dr. Levine actually believes (hence the title of his book) that a failure to achieve in life has little to do with an individual's personality, upbringing, or our corrupt government's willingness to pay them to do nothing all day long. Rather, it's various kinds of faulty wiring that makes people "victims" of the unmitigated sloth their brains force upon them. Mmm-hmm.

That's like saying that obesity is caused solely by genetics or glands and not by a carb-heavy, sugar-saturated diet coupled with a largely sedentary lifestyle (see also: laziness). While this may be true in a small number of cases, for many people, obesity is caused by personal choices -- like cramming their faces with junk food day and night…  

But what I can't figure out from reading the article -- and I'm sure not going to waste time and money on the book -- is exactly what Levine's "angle" is here. Is his goal to criticize the healthy competition (i.e., capitalism) which REALLY DOES drive human achievement and excellence? Or is his goal to increase a demand for more drugs and medical treatment for lazy -- er, "output-challenged" -- children?

Maybe his objective is simply to create a demand for his book by demolishing for all the lazy people (who grow in number every day) the last remaining link to anything resembling personal accountability in their lives? Think about it: If you were so dysfunctionally lethargic that you couldn't hold a job down or keep your family together, wouldn't you want a book that would once and for all excuse you from any blame in the matter? I sure would. The book would prove what I'd been telling my bosses and relatives for years -- that it's "not my fault!"

That sure would motivate me to change my ways, wouldn't it?

According to Dr. Levine, society is paying the price (and footing the bill) for this unfortunate "disease" in the form of unemployment benefits, mental health treatment, and (I assume) criminal prosecution and incarceration in some cases…

And on this point, I agree with him -- whatever label we give our laziness.

Because the devil's in the details,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD