"The person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."
It's been years since the first time I heard Tommy Lee Jones utter that line to Will Smith in the cheesy sci-fi movie Men In Black, but it's something that really resonated with me from the first time I ever heard it. Every now and then, the human race has a way of reminding me how true that quote really was.
In recent weeks, our great nation has been shaken to its core with an epidemic that's sure to rewrite history and change even the most basic aspects of our way of life...or so you'd believe, if you're one of the tens millions of idiots who hang on every word spoken by their chosen media outlet or printed in the thousands of articles littering our Facebook walls about - wait for it - EBOLA (cue dramatic music.) If the internet is a wealth of information, it is a fortune of mis-information. A catchy title that plays to someone's belief system is far too likely to be "shared" with no research or fact check, or even so much as a browse of the actual story in many cases.
In the current political atmosphere, there's a simple formula for writers to have their article read and shared: Blame the president. It's really that simple. If I wrote an article titled "Obama admits downplaying Ebola threat" and took a few quotes out of context, it would be complete bullshit...and it would spread like wildfire. There are certain phrases that elicit a visceral response from certain types of people - President Obama, President Bush, Fox News, Tea Party, liberal, Muslim, Palin, Clinton, etc. Every journalist knows it. They know all they need to do is use certain words or phrases that are hot right now (Obama, Ebola) and people will click on it.
Here's the thing: Ebola is, at the very least, mildly concerning. At the very most, it's a major threat to our lives and our way of life. I know very little about it, other than some articles and a brief examination of this website. It's probably safe to assume 90% of you know about the same as I do. The problem is a few idiots who know no more about it than you and I are spreading most of the information, most of which is probably misleading or completely false, and that is where the panic is coming from. Even intelligent "persons" are susceptible to falling into a herd of stupid "people."
What we know to be fact as of this writing, is that one man in Texas is dead from Ebola. He was from Liberia, which has been hit hard by the outbreak in West Africa. He had been in direct physical contact with someone in the late stages of the disease, and that person died shortly thereafter. He then chose to fly to the United States, lying to officials at the airport and denying any contact with the disease. He has since died, and the family he stayed with in Dallas, as well as hospital workers he came in contact with have been isolated and monitored. To date, two cases of Ebola have been confirmed - both nurses who treated patient zero. Both patients are being treated, and are currently in stable condition. At present, the good reverend Jesse Jackson is actively stirring the pot that patient zero was not properly treated, because he was black. ...because that's what Jesse Jackson does.
In my opinion, three infected patients and one casualty does not qualify as an epidemic, or even an outbreak. Three people infected, one dead. Statistically, more people will die from Influenza while you read this blog post than have ever died in the US from Ebola. That doesn't mean I don't think we should do anything - restrict air travel to and from the plagued region until the threat has been neutralized, isolate and monitor those who have come in contact with infected persons, encourage people not to travel abroad unless absolutely necessary until the outbreak in Africa has been somewhat contained, aggressively continue to try solving the mystery of Ebola and working to eradicate it - but mass hysteria will generate nothing positive. Blaming the president will generate nothing positive. Closing off and essentially putting the entire nation under quarantine will generate nothing positive.
Unfortunately, most of the hysteria and finger pointing is politically motivated. The Obama Administration, and by extension the DNC is doing their best to appear as though the situation is under control and they've provided effective leadership to navigate us all through this crisis. The RNC and most conservative pundits are doing their level best to assure us that the White House has dropped the ball and that this situation was entirely preventable and that in short, this predicament is President Obama's fault. It doesn't create results, it creates yet another line by which to divide us as a society. Thankfully, (sarcasm) the White House has decided to grace us with yet another "Czar." The Ebola Czar is here now, and he's a medical professional with a wealth of knowledge and experience in science and disease prevention - wait a minute. Check that. He's a lawyer with exactly ZERO experience in medicine or science? Par for the course, I guess. After all, the appointment comes after heavy lobbying by congressional Republicans to assign an such a post. You know, the same Republicans who protested like crazy over the appointment of czars earlier in the Obama Administration's reign.
I guess I'll close on that. I'm late for an appointment with the breakfast czar. I think someone ate my Strawberry yogurt. After that, I'm told the paperwork czar wants me to clean off my desk. Maybe I'll do that while I'm on the phone with Jesse Jackson discussing the racial implications of black coffee.
-DS
