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2/07/2003 02:37:00 AM | Jared Alessandroni Smallpox and Fear Interesting article in the Times about the "president"'s plan to vaccinate 500,000 health care workers against smallpox. According to the Times, Public-health and hospital officials concede that they are struggling to find volunteers. Many health workers say they are skeptical that an attack is imminent and fear having a bad reaction to the vaccine or infecting a patient or relative with it. As far as I've heard, the vaccine isn't dangerous, and it's easy to argue that safer is better. But even the CDC states specifically that there is no reason to believe that smallpox presents an imminent threat. So, I wonder - again - what do we have to gain as a country by this culture of fear? What are the implications, the nuances of programs like these, sensational non-sensical reactions to chimerical events? It's something like our parents learning to run and hide under their desks in case of a nuclear war. It's sick, really, all these children in the sixties who would have been vaporized while they pathetically attempted to hide under their desks. Maybe even more sick that they were taught this at all - that they had to live with the fear of some impending doom. So why this culture of fear? Why vaccinate against a mythical plague? Everyone knows that if managed properly, and with any number of agents, huge segments of our population could easily be taken. It's like the desk routine. But now, it seems like maybe people are realizing the idiocy of it. And yet, the "president" pushes it. Why? Well, maybe when you have an invisible, constantly looming enemy, it's easier to ignore the fallacies of the present government. And maybe if we're afraid we'll all turn into flag-waving patriots. If you ever get bored, look at these frustrating stats about Bush's approval rating, then follow the links back in time. Here's a man who was this functionally illiterate [well, still is] who won on his opponent's weakness and then won not a majority, but the EC only after because the SC upheld his right not to have the ballots recounted while acconting for their flaws, a man who was staring idly as our economic bubble began to burst. Then, a few thousand people die - priorities again - and he's got a 74% approval rating for being there. The media can't touch him anymore, and no one points out the inanity of his FaithBased, Educational, communicative, tax, and diplomatic decisions... well, what happens when people start noticing that he's doing an awful job, that they don't have jobs, and that most of the world hates us? It's almost as if someone were trying to steer us away from that realization. Now, did I mention that there's an unfathomable threat of smallpox looming? Get under your desks... perma link |
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