Some Thoughts on Pandemic Panic
By Jim Bourey
Pandemic panic still moves on like an out
of control stagecoach in an old western movie. Naively, I thought it would
subside after a week or so. The medical response folks were cranking things up
with people making plans, assessing their supply situation, asking for help
from the government. At first it seemed like people in high places were going
to make a quick response to the needs. But political squabbling got in the way
and it took the better part of a month to get that aid package done. Meanwhile,
some parts of the government did what they could and, if we do a little
research, we can see that it was considerable. Some of my friends have done the
research. They have checked in medical news sources. They checked with the data
collectors – including those who are independent. They checked with world-wide
health organizations. And the findings are (not reported in our more hysteria
driven media) that we are meeting the challenge here in the US.
But the panic continues. Food supplies are
still good except for a few odd sections of the supermarkets. Shortages can
mostly be blamed on continued hoarding during this alert status. Truckers are
out doing their jobs. Food production folks are working. Farmers are working.
Essential service people are doing their essential things. And thank goodness for
all those terrific health care people who are still treating things like heart
disease, cancer and most everything else while they battle this flu-like
attack. Fire companies, police departments and the military are all geared up
to provide protection and support where it is needed. Even the media, in all it’s
doom-saying glory, is out there freely disseminating a huge amount of
information twenty-four hours a day. And let’s not forget the entertainment
sector as it fills screens across the land. We could be in a TV and game
playing stupor all the time if we chose to. And yes, some do choose that option.
We know all of these things. Yet folks are
still in a panic. Some politicians seem to work pretty hard at driving the feeling.
I’m not accusing them of doing it nefariously but there aren’t many voices of
reason being heard. Top directing officials make plans, announce them, provide
data backing their decisions and recommendations then get hammered within
minutes with a barrage of disparaging, contentious comments and tweets and “special
reports.” It would seem that there is no inclination to wait and see if they’re
right. Nope. Self-appointed “experts” start shouting before the last syllables
are out of the mouths of people who are actually doing the work of dealing with
the problems.
And there are problems. I’ve been alive
over seventy years. I’ve seen crisis after crisis. Polio was a big scare when I
was a kid. Meningitis. The Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam,
gasoline shortages, several epidemics and threatened epidemics including swine
flu, SARS, opioid escalation, 911. It seems like every year we face something. There
may be an initial panic period. But it usually dissipates pretty quickly. This
time the panic seems to be hanging on for a long time. I’ve been trying to
figure out why. Some blame social media. Others blame the ineptitude of the
president. He’s an easy target, always saying foolish things that need to be
explained or walked back by his more rational team members. And there are
rational folks on his team. His medical advisers are smart and qualified. His Surgeon
General is a reasonable and diligent person. A few of his other advisers have a
handle on the issues. But for some reason, political I suspect, they are not given
any positive coverage. Blatant insults, antagonistic questioning, lack of
willingness to wait for results are the reactions to these people who are working
so hard to deal with these issues.
The
politics of disease containment is something I didn’t expect to see in my
lifetime. But we have it. And it’s been around at least since the HIV/AIDS
crisis. We are slow learners, I guess.
Using
a medical crisis in the unending games of politics is just wrong. But it’s not
going to stop anytime soon.
So, we go on. We try to use our common
sense, though many don’t seem to have that resource available. We minimize
contacts with other folks. We pay attention to our physical condition, go
outside and walk where we can, eat properly. And we should be careful to get
our news and information from the less agitated sources. Check out the
information you read. It’s actually possible with the amazing capabilities of
the internet – though it isn’t always easy. Stay in touch with your family and
friends. But ignore a whole lot of the crap you scroll across on social media.
Lots of unbalanced opinion is on there disguised as reality. Be patient. Let
things work. Have a little faith. And have a fine day.
