The Chance of Ebola Being Contained in the U.S. Depends on People Who Say Things Like This...
Over the weekend, the Weekly Standard published a detailed article about the Ebola virus you really should read. (Click HERE.) For those of you who might note that this publication represents a conservative, more specifically "Neoconservative" point of view, we concede that's true. But really read the article, since it breaks down the threat of Ebola in a pretty clear and logical way that, while it takes some time to read, and some concentrated effort to understand, contains about the best summary of where things stand today and how things may develop in the future. And by "future," we're talking about the weeks and months ahead. So if a threat does exist that Ebola might spread from its current locus in Africa in such a way that your and my life may be threatened, you'll at least understand to some degree how and why that threat exists.
I don't know about you, but I consider such knowledge and understanding important to me, my loved ones, my friends and acquaintances, my neighbors, and our society as a whole. The point here is that this is the sort of threat to both personal welfare and the common good that comes along rarely, but when it comes needs to be taken seriously, to be followed carefully, and - until by God's grace it is extinguished somehow - is worthy of serious concern, if not deep worry and anxiety. Just read the article. And get over the fact that the source may espouse political views different than yours. That's the case for me, but I'm telling you I found the article, to put it mildly, helpful.
When I worked through the breakdown of reasons to "panic," a word used in the title of the article, and used in a way that won't appear irresponsible or even alarmist if you read the whole thing, the one point that really stood out, given this blog's emphasis on reason and common sense, was the concern with not only our political institutions, but with our elite institutions, i.e., those who can and should provide some leadership in fighting the spread of this terrible disease. The author states flatly that
But more specific to the current situation with Ebola, the following comment by Thomas Frieden, the head of the CDC - which to remind you stands for "Center for Disease Control - should not just make your head spin, but help you to understand why the loss of reason and common sense in our world presents a clear and present danger to your personal well-being:
I hope you see that. If not, please re-read those sentences, this time more slowly. In a world of sound-bites, text messages, instant messaging, and reduced (to put it mildly) attention spans, it's important that we all work on any failings we may have in the area of using our reason and common sense and paying attention to important matters, even when that calls for our slowing down and concentrating on certain subject matter for more than a few seconds. And this goes not only for those who've passed through our education system recently, who are clearly challenged here, but even those of us of riper vintage who may have developed bad habits and as a result weakened our faculty of reason and our natural common sense by spending inordinate amounts of time with gadgets that focus our minds on what really are "trivial pursuits" ranging from reality TV, sports, "entertainment," games, and the plethora of irrelevant and foolish matters that take up so much of our time.
Can you see why more of us need to take seriously the commitment to using reason and common sense on a day-to-day basis? If this doesn't motivate you to take your responsibility to live your life utilizing your God-given ability to think rationally as well as to develop common sense by taking what you experience in life and applying it to the important decisions we all make each day, I don't know what will.
I don't know about you, but I consider such knowledge and understanding important to me, my loved ones, my friends and acquaintances, my neighbors, and our society as a whole. The point here is that this is the sort of threat to both personal welfare and the common good that comes along rarely, but when it comes needs to be taken seriously, to be followed carefully, and - until by God's grace it is extinguished somehow - is worthy of serious concern, if not deep worry and anxiety. Just read the article. And get over the fact that the source may espouse political views different than yours. That's the case for me, but I'm telling you I found the article, to put it mildly, helpful.
When I worked through the breakdown of reasons to "panic," a word used in the title of the article, and used in a way that won't appear irresponsible or even alarmist if you read the whole thing, the one point that really stood out, given this blog's emphasis on reason and common sense, was the concern with not only our political institutions, but with our elite institutions, i.e., those who can and should provide some leadership in fighting the spread of this terrible disease. The author states flatly that
...once more they have been exposed as either corrupt, incompetent, or both.citing as a simple example something said by President Obama that you may remember. I certainly do:
“...the chances of an Ebola outbreak here in the United States are extremely low.” Less then two weeks later, there was an Ebola outbreak in the United States.First of all, I hope you see here yet another example of why you ought not take the word of politicians at face value, and even less so when a crisis is brewing. Even with an understanding that such people don't want to create panic, it's hard to justify such baldly wrong and misleading pronouncements as were made by, in this particular instance, Obama.
But more specific to the current situation with Ebola, the following comment by Thomas Frieden, the head of the CDC - which to remind you stands for "Center for Disease Control - should not just make your head spin, but help you to understand why the loss of reason and common sense in our world presents a clear and present danger to your personal well-being:
“I think there are two different parts of that equation. The first is, if you’re a member of the traveling public and are healthy, should you be worried that you might have gotten it by sitting next to someone? And the answer is no. Second, if you are sick and you may have Ebola, should you get on a bus? And the answer to that is also no. You might become ill, you might have a problem that exposes someone around you.”Remember that the entire purpose of the agency he heads is, as the name of it indicates, to control diseases, that is diseases whose spread threatens to do so out of control and present a danger to growing numbers of people. So Frieden holds a critical position in the effort to control the spread of Ebola. For that reason, it's important that you understand what this man just said. The man flatly contradicts himself.
I hope you see that. If not, please re-read those sentences, this time more slowly. In a world of sound-bites, text messages, instant messaging, and reduced (to put it mildly) attention spans, it's important that we all work on any failings we may have in the area of using our reason and common sense and paying attention to important matters, even when that calls for our slowing down and concentrating on certain subject matter for more than a few seconds. And this goes not only for those who've passed through our education system recently, who are clearly challenged here, but even those of us of riper vintage who may have developed bad habits and as a result weakened our faculty of reason and our natural common sense by spending inordinate amounts of time with gadgets that focus our minds on what really are "trivial pursuits" ranging from reality TV, sports, "entertainment," games, and the plethora of irrelevant and foolish matters that take up so much of our time.
Can you see why more of us need to take seriously the commitment to using reason and common sense on a day-to-day basis? If this doesn't motivate you to take your responsibility to live your life utilizing your God-given ability to think rationally as well as to develop common sense by taking what you experience in life and applying it to the important decisions we all make each day, I don't know what will.
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