"Nobody listens to me, Dr. Shrink."
    "Hmm.  I see.  That's really a rather common complaint.  I think you'll see a great deal of improvement after we build up your self-esteem a little."
    "I don't know," said the patient doubtfully.  "I think this is bigger than you can imagine."
    Dr. Shrink laughed softly.  "I know it seems quite devastating to you right now, Ms. ... uh, what is your name again?"
    "Banshee," said the patient.  "Howlynn Banshee.  But my friends just call me 'Lynn.'"
    "Yes, yes.  Ms. Banshee," nodded the doctor.  "By the way, is that a bit of an Irish brogue I detect?"
    "Yes," replied Ms. Banshee.  "I'm an immigrant.  I thought a change of scenery would do me good, but now I'm not so sure."
    "So, when did you begin to feel that no one was listening to you?" probed Dr. Shrink.
    "Well, not long after my arrival in this country, I noticed some alarming things happening to the environment.  I guess the most obvious thing was that the planet was heating up like Texas in July.  In fact, Texas in July was worse than Texas in July.  Not only that, but there were pollutants in the water, the air, and the food people ate."
    "Oh?  So?"
    Ms Banshee shot the doctor an incredulous look.  "So?  So?  Well, nobody seemed to notice, so I decided to warn them."
    "And did you?"
    "Yes!  Of course!  But nobody heard me!"
    "That doesn't seem so unusual.  How did you warn them?"
    "I screamed.  Back in Ireland, I once finished third in the Irish Open Howling Tournament.  Aaiiiiieeee!  Don't you see what's happening?  This is your home!  You're letting greedy, shortsighted people poison you and your children and ruin your planet!"
    "So, what happened then?"
    "What happened?  No one paid any attention.  They didn't seem to hear me.  That's when I started to think I might be losing my mind.  I used to scare 'em witless back home."
    "Maybe there was a good reason they didn't hear you," suggested Dr. Shrink.  "Were you hoarse that day?  Any atmospheric disturbances?  Sunspots?  Monday Night Football?  Anything like that?"
    "I did notice that everyone seemed to be trapped inside mazes.  Inside the mazes were little squarish containers with fabric on the sides.  Each person seemed to have his own container inside the maze."
    "Maybe they couldn't hear you through the fabric," suggested the doctor.
    "You could hear a gnat sneeze through the fabric," countered Ms. Banshee.  "No, I think it was the glowing boxes.  Everyone seemed mesmerized by the glowing boxes.  I tried to distract some of the people individually."
    "And how did that work?"
    "Abysmally.  Just when I thought I might be getting through, they would babble at me, or perhaps at no one in particular."
    "Can you give me any examples?"
    "Sure," continued Ms. Banshee.  "They would say, '24-7 coverage' or 'quarter end close' or 'beat the Street forecast' or 'hope I don't get laid off.'  Sometimes they spoke in an unintelligible language.  They were always talking about 'going forward,' although they never seemed to do anything but wander around the maze or sit in their square containers."
    "So, is that all?"
    "Oh, not by a long shot," said Ms. Banshee.  "It wasn't long before I noticed some other disturbing events.  I saw that the very wealthy people kept getting wealthier, while everyone else kept getting poorer.  Then, when the not so wealthy people started to complain that they were losing ground, the wealthy people said it was the poor people's fault.  And everyone nodded their heads sagely in agreement and seemed to be pretty happy with that.  This time, I bought a megaphone.  Aaiiiiieeee! I howled.  Can't you see that the greedheads are squeezing you dry and blaming the most powerless among you?  Doesn't it seem at least a tiny bit illogical to you that the poor and weak could be the source of your problems?"
    "And how did that go?" asked the doctor.
    "Terribly," admitted Ms. Banshee.  "No better than the first time.  This time, I noticed that many of the people, although by no means all, had escaped from their mazes and gone home, but even there, they were transfixed by glowing boxes.  Again, I tried to talk to some of the individuals.  They said, 'Shh!  Survivor's on!'  Or 'Go away!  I'm watching Big Brother!'"
    "And then you came to me?"
    "No, not yet.  I had one more trick up my sleeve.  I saw that your politics were becoming corrupted by money.  Elected office was going to whomever was able to mortgage his soul to the most monied interests for the highest price.  And this appeared to be at the root of much of the other rot.  Remembering my previous failures, I bought myself dual 18-inch, 1000-watt woofers.  They put me out a bundle, believe me, but they gave me great volume:  Aaiiiiieeee!  Your democracy is being sold to the highest bidder!  Wake up before it's too late!"
    "Any luck?" asked the doctor?
    "No," sighed Ms. Banshee.  "This time everyone who wasn't still laboring in the maze was out cold, gathering some modicum of strength before the next run through the maze.  I'm screaming, screaming at the top of my lungs.  Why can't they hear?"
    "Well, Ms. Banshee, your problem is actually simpler than I first thought," opined the doctor.
    "Really?" said Ms. Banshee hopefully.  "What do you recommend?"
    "Buy yourself a TV," said Dr. Shrink.  "And make sure you get cable.  There are some great programs on.  Have you ever watched a reality show?"