I don't know if you have ever watched Doctor Who, but there is a species of alien called The Ood. They are born with their brain on the outside, making them extremely vulnerable.

Humans eventually begin to put the Oods' brains in these orbs that are supposed to translate their thoughts into speech. It's supposed to protect their brain from harm because it's a hard shell.

The Ood are perfect servants because they like serving. Similar to House Elves in Harry Potter. It gives them purpose.

But then the Doctor finds a group of Ood who do not have their brains in orbs just yet. They are huddled close together, keeping their hands around their brains, trying to shield them by forming a circle together with their backs to the outside. He found them by following a hauntingly beautiful song.

And he realizes, the orbs aren't the protection and translation they seem. They are actually a way of controlling the Ood. Protection and translation are just a side effect, a marketing scheme. The actual purpose is to keep the Ood suppressed, oppressed, and turning them into an item instead of a living being.

The doctor's companion says, "They're born with their brains in their hands, don't you see, that makes them peaceful. They've got to be, 'cause a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."

The average American is an Ood. We are unable to really focus on how others think of us because we are just trying to survive.