Old Lady Syndrome

It can be applied to both old men and old women, but 'old lady' has a more specific connotation, at least in my mind.

The way it works is the old woman's husband dies and leaves her a fortune, big or small, it doesn't matter. She gets to thinking that maybe she could do some good with this money, so she starts looking around for a charity or a project to support.

On the other side of town, we have a youngster, fresh out of college, looking to make their mark on the world. They latch onto some social justice cause and start promoting it

Then the two meet. The old woman is impressed by the youngster's energy and determination, and the cause she is supporting matches the old woman's goals, at least partially, so she gives the youngster some money.

Now the youngster has a benefactor and she goes out and tells the world about her cause. She gains adherents and donations, so her media campaign expands and soon she is on the news telling the world about her cause.

Nowhere in this chain of events has anyone taken the time or expending the energy to examine the issues involved to see whether any of these proposals are going to do any good. That's because thinking is hard work and people tend to shy away from hard work. They would rather let their emotions control their actions. 

Emotions are easily manipulated. I have to keep mine pretty much locked down. If I told you how I felt about any of the issues being talked about in the news today, you would rightly dismiss me as a raving lunatic. Yelling 'Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out' is not really helpful.