Fear

i’ve got a whole lot of feelings about this swine flu thing…

school closures.  UIL competition postponement.  endless news reports.  footage showing school janitors wiping down the underside of desks.  no more cinco de mayo?

scare tactics?  over-reaction?  realistic concerns?  you can find people representing just about every different perspective.  i even found a website dedicated to the best swine flu jokes.  i guess we better send that link to the family that lost their baby.  maybe it will make them feel better…

my friend andrew pointed out the headline of today’s london times:  “94,000 people in london could die of swine flu!” talk about raising the level of fear!!  but here’s the rub, to quote my friend:

We are a fickle race, us humans. We are more inoculated, integrated, more armed with more prisons, and wealthier than any time in human history. Yet, we might just be more afraid than any time in history as well. Of course, our politicians exploit this, manage this, campaign on this, and win votes by this. Fear might be a more powerful motive than hope. What am I talking about? Of course it is. The audacity of hope has no greater foe than the predictability of fear.

interesting quote.  here’s another interesting reality:  since the outbreak (about a month ago), there have been 247 people on the planet die of the swine flu.  during the same month, there have been over 900,000 children under the age of five who have died due to poverty related illnesses, such as diarrhea.  that’s nearly one million children.  and next month another 900,000 will die.  and the same number the next month.

where’s the headline for that one?

this line of thinking raises so many issues for me…i think i want to get sick to my stomach…and not from a swine.

#death #fear #poverty #swineflu