Ebola is blowing up all over the news as an "epidemic", and an "emergency". News stations like Fox and NBC seem to love riling up fear and panic in people. They use phrases like " spiraling out of control" and the "ebola emergency in America" to convey an extreme sense of panic and immediacy. What are the actual odds of ebola spreading in America? That's what I want to know. I really wish news stations would be objective about they report, or at least change their names to "Fox Editorials", and "NBC's Opinions" to be more accurate of what they give out to people.
The death toll in Africa due to Ebola is somewhere around 10,000. In AFRICA. In 4 different countries. This is about 1% of the total population of these countries. Not a very big number especially considering these are third world countries with extremely low medical capabilities as far as containing fluids and replenishing them. Family members also have to bury their dead on their own by hand without any protective gear. Is it any surprise that this disease could spread in such a place?
There are now 6 reported cases in the US, and ONE death. Sure this may be a gruesome disease, but so is heart disease. This kills hundreds of thousands times more people every year than Ebola has this year so far. Can we please put this much energy into reporting and stopping this as we do for a third world disease? What are the actual odds of this affecting you or me or anyone we personally know? Very slim even considering the majority of Ebola cases are in the same state as us. What a bunch of over-hyped sensationalism.
Obama is now talking about sending the National Guard to contain the ebola epidemic in Africa in this article: Obama Authorizes National Guard Call-Up to Fight Ebola in West Africa (Lucy Westcott, 10/16/2014, Newsweek) Is this really any of our business? If anything is going to infect a large number of US citizens with Ebola, it will be doing this. The US really has an ego sometimes. If anything just send medical supplies and a few doctors to train African medical personnel, then get the hell out of there. We really need to stop overemphasizing ourself and taking so much damn responsibility as a country.
All in all this is a terrible disease with a very minor outbreak that has been blown WAY out of proportions. We would be better off spreading meditation and yoga classes via TV than all this fear sensationalism crap.
1 comment:
I gotta say there Mr Ace, you hit the nail spot on the head with your posting, "One Ebola death hardly counts as an epidemic!" I loved it!
The truth is, Ebola has been affecting Africa for years and no one has gave two cares in the world about it until now since it has caused an "epidemic" in the US. Now they have our troops over there "fighting the fight against Ebola" which will be putting our troops at unnecessary risk which also could potentially raise the number of unfortunate deaths from Ebola in the US. However, the bottom line remains that Ebola is (should be) the least of our worries when it comes to infectious or fatal diseases/illnesses and Ebola in Africa most definitely needs to be of the least of our worries. We need to worry about what is going on in our country now, and take care of our people. Raise awareness for the illness affecting our citizens, help find cures, volunteer your free time, etc. If you feel the need to grieve when something like Ebola happens in our country, O.K. ... fine! So be it! But... Move on and get over it because the truth is that it is NOT that serious! When it comes to spending money on diseases and curing them and "fighting against them" we need to focus our energy, money and support on what is HERE and most predominant! Not something that has just affected a hand full of US citizens and is not typically found here. Don't get me wrong, I agree that we need to be sure that we have a plan in place and health professionals are trained how to PROPERLY and PROFESSIONALLY deal with, handle and treat Ebola patients but that does not mean to put all our eggs in one basket. There is no need to invest all of anyone's time, money or interest in Ebola or the training for it! Last but certainly not least, keep our troops out of it! They have no business over there! Which by the way... Just curious but in response to the headlines lately... How can you "fight" a disease? LOL I just can't wrap my head around that one! Also, check out this interesting article on the NPR website from 10/2/14 titled, "No, Seriously, How Contagious is Ebola?" about how contagious Ebola REALLY is/isn't (yes I said "isn't) in comparison to Measles, Mumps, SARS, HIV and Hep C. Also, an interesting fact mentioned in there is quoted as, "The World Health Organization now estimates that the virus has killed about 70 percent of people infected in West Africa."
Well, it looks like the links and the picture that I posted on my page are not going to show up on your page in my comments. However, you can go to my blog to check it out if you want. Mine is "Like it or Not... It is What it Is" Great Job!
Post a Comment