Swine Flu Boo Hoo

Unfortunately, the same swine flu that prompted President Ford to call for the entire U.S. population to be immunized back in 1976 is back to haunt us again. Swine flu? Unfortunately, ground zero for the flu is Mexico prompting our most narrow-minded denizens to bring in any race bias against immigrants especially those from Latin America. Perhaps we are more paranoid because we share a border. After all, we have had SARS and Bird Flu from Asia, Mad Cow from Britain, and Anthrax scares right here in the good old U.S.

There will always be plagues, we have had them from the beginning of time. I always thought it was a method of trimming the herd, reducing the population or the continuation of natural selection. In any case, some of us have to go, so to speak - otherwise we would have overrun the planet a long time ago. Together, modern medicine and morality have given us the default that everyone has a right to life and everyone should be saved at all costs. We could explore all sorts of ramifications to the downside of this logic but it prevails for now.

Anyhow, while we are living and believing that none of us should die for any reason other than natural causes and then, still not without medical intervention, we blame foreigners for bringing themselves and associated ills to this country. We have long forgotten that conquerors have brought diseases that wiped out indigenous populations throughout history. Think, American Indians and the native populations of South America. Famine, associated disease and death have removed whole settlements of humans time and again.

Medicine has given us a golden age of survival that we take for granted. It, in turn, allows us to abuse our health without remorse because there is a pill for everything. Funny how the best defense for a lot of our health risks is a simple washing of the hands. It is something a surprising amount of people feel they should skimp on or skip and I can't figure out why. There has been a national campaign for the last decade or more with signs in every restroom warning patrons and employees to wash their hands after using the facilities and yet many people still do not comply. How hard is it to wash your hands especially when you have euphemistically "used toilet paper" and/or coughed and sneezed into those hands? Instead, many just turn around and touch another surface transferring those germs to the next poor sod who comes in contact with that surface.

We need to learn these lessons and do a better job of utilizing preventive methods because in many cases they are cheap and easy. One day, we will place value on something though I'm not sure what that will be.