Look, Im as big a hypochondriac as youll ever find. Name any disease and Ive contracted it from my imagination at some point in my life. But even I know that this Ebola panic is completely out of proportion. Were talking about one confirmed case. One. In the entire country. In a country of over 300 million people. One case. One confirmed incident. .00000000001 percent of the population afflicted. There are literally thousands of scary and deadly diseases that are far more prevalent in the US. If youre looking for a reason to lose sleep tonight, why not consider tuberculosis or AIDS? If you read the reports, youll see that this guy contracted Ebola because he physically touched and was in close proximity with a woman who was dying of the disease. She was within hours of her death, and he sat in claustrophobic confines with her, and then helped carry her because she wasnt strong enough to stand. Its a very sad story, but it shows that the virus wont leap through the air and seep into your skin because you live in the same city as this guy. You would have to, at a minimum, physically touch him and somehow ingest his bodily fluids while he is showing symptoms. Yes, Ebola is a scourge in West Africa. But heres the good news: the USA is not West Africa. We have proper medical facilities. We have a basic understanding of how diseases and viruses work. We dont eat undercooked exotic meat harvested from a rain forest and sold by a street vendor in a poverty-stricken village. We have a government that, despite its many, many, many flaws, is at least more capable of controlling an outbreak than any government in that region of the world. We have higher hygiene standards. We dont bury our own dead family members. If someone has Ebola, we are going to refrain from coming into contact with their blood, sweat, or feces. Just because something tragically wipes out hundreds or thousands of people in a third world country doesnt mean it will do the same here. Did you know that other terrible African diseases have been transported here in the past? Ever hear of Lassa Fever? Me neither, but I just read about it. Several people have come to America carrying that one with them, and it never spread, and you never worried about it because the media never told you to. I know Ebola is a scary thing. If it were to spread rapidly in our country, Id be extremely concerned. But one dude hardly qualifies as spreading rapidly. The chances of this one case turning into an epidemic are exceedingly small. I mean, really, can we ever just put things into a proper perspective anymore? Can we ever react to something like reasonable, thinking, rational individuals? Does everything have to be a panic? Do we have to come up with a new thing to freak out about every single week? Can we calm down for a few days? Please, people. Please. Im exhausted. Seriously, everyone. We will be fine. Unless bird flu ever comes along, and then were all screwed.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 20:03:57 +0000
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