For several weeks this has been the main topic of conversation in the news media as well as in the households of millions of Americans who have become skeptical that the Ebola virus is something they should be concerned about catching. The Ebola virus is not a newly discovered disease, but rather a hysteria that has infiltrated the psyche of American minds the moment a citizen contracted the disease on American soil. While I will not concede to such mass frenzies, I will admit that despite statements from the government urging me I have nothing to fear any foreign disease can cause a threat to national security, albeit a likely, remote and diminutive one in that respect.
The Huffington Post posted an article on Halloween citing the CDC’s decision to alter the language they are providing the masses on the Ebola Virus via their website. It seems like the virus could be passed through “droplets” from sneezes and coughs. And while it is “unlikely” the disease will not mutate into an airborne form, that statement does not refute the possibility. This is a bit disconcerting if you ask me. I watched the movie Contagion starring Gwyneth Paltrow. I know what can happen with infectious and contagious diseases. I sure as heck know more than NBC News chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who can’t follow a simple quarantine measure that somehow doesn’t apply to her superhuman and entitled stature. I hope that soup was worth risking exposing a disease that could have lain dormant in her body.
Ultimately, I think the ongoing news cycle and regurgitation of fear-mongering does nothing but provoke panic that distracts from other more important news events. Do I fear that I will catch Ebola? No. Is it possible? Sure I guess; though I probably have a better chance to win the jackpot. I suppose there’s always a possibility. However, it is not a thought that runs rampant and prevalent in my mind.
I’m not saying Americans shouldn’t be aware of the current situation. I’m simply stating that in all likelihood the average American doesn’t have much to worry about. And if we do, then I guess it might then be a more appropriate time to panic.
What do you think?
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Twitter: @adrakontaidis & @talkrealdebate
