Reasonable Rascal
05-02-09, 01:59
Editorial: Pandemic Flu
Much ado has been made in a very short time about the new flu “pandemic.” The mainstream media is sopping it up as just the latest in high-interest stories, another way for them to show us just how bad off we are if only we’d listen to them.
Unfortunately for them the death toll is not rising as dramatically as they’d like (death sells; recovery is offered as a version of ‘There but for the grace of God….’ Except that in their world God has no place save as a quaint belief system), and infection rates seem to be more a matter of improvements in qualified surveillance and diagnosis rather than a true increase in numbers.
Do we really have to worry about another 1918-like world flu pandemic, with extremely high mortality expressed as a total number of deaths – as opposed to an extremely high percentage of death rates amongst infected persons? The simple answer is yes, we do.
The logical extension of that question then is, is this current event, i.e. the so-called Swine Flu, or H1N1-A, THE event we have been waiting for? There truly is no certain way of telling. At least not yet. Only time and experience will tell.
The early returns, and make no mistake, we are early in this game, seem to indicate that percentage-wise this is no worse than the normal seasonal flu. In other words we can expect that a certain small percentage of people who contract the flu may succumb as a result. This is not a variation from what we normally see, and therefore well within expectations for any flu strain, novel or not. This leaves us only with a flu virus that is novel, and which arrived – or was discovered any way – late in the normal season.
Should we make preps that will carry us through in the event that this virus turns out to be another 1918-like infection? Of course. The better prepared you and I are for something which history tells us is as inevitable as death and taxes the better we will all fare when the time comes.
Does that mean that preparation bordering on panic is called for? If we were facing the possibility of a nuclear conflict sometime in the next 1-2 weeks it might be justified. One could be excused if they fought over the last shovel or last bag of rice at the bulk market, if they left their employment without notice and ran for the hills far, far away.
But we aren’t facing such a crisis. Truth be told we do not yet know with any certainty whether we face a crisis at all, or whether it may be just another anomalous blip on the screen of history, another false start as it were. Yes, the disease surveillance networks are watching this event with bated breath, as they should be. That is why they exist, to keep watch and sound the warning when the wolves arrive at the gates. After that it is up to us – you and I and our respective neighbors – to take active measures to protect ourselves as well as those dear to us.
The media is in a literal feeding frenzy, eager to report yet more seeming disastrously bad news. They thrive upon it in fact. Meanwhile the prudent prepper goes about quietly preparing for the inevitable, whether it arrives, today, tomorrow, or in their children’s lifetime. We take stock of what we have, rotate foods, medications and the necessities of daily life so that when the time comes to delve into our self-stored insurance policies we may do so with the confidence that we have done all humanly possible as within our means.
The very same government that enjoins us to make personal preps is the same one that on the other hand chides us for clinging to our Bibles and our guns. Put another way we clutch our values close to our hearts – whatever those values may be – and the means to protect our chosen way of life. Substitute the Torah, the Book of Morman or the Koran as you will, and insurance policies, food stores or a garage full of tools, and you still have the same thing; you have values held close to the heart and the means to protect those values as they play a role in your everyday life.
Watch, listen, pay attention, and above all be aware of what is going on around you. Stay informed, share with others whether they might agree with your present point of view of not, and be ready, whether anything of an apocalyptic nature occurs or not.
Much ado has been made in a very short time about the new flu “pandemic.” The mainstream media is sopping it up as just the latest in high-interest stories, another way for them to show us just how bad off we are if only we’d listen to them.
Unfortunately for them the death toll is not rising as dramatically as they’d like (death sells; recovery is offered as a version of ‘There but for the grace of God….’ Except that in their world God has no place save as a quaint belief system), and infection rates seem to be more a matter of improvements in qualified surveillance and diagnosis rather than a true increase in numbers.
Do we really have to worry about another 1918-like world flu pandemic, with extremely high mortality expressed as a total number of deaths – as opposed to an extremely high percentage of death rates amongst infected persons? The simple answer is yes, we do.
The logical extension of that question then is, is this current event, i.e. the so-called Swine Flu, or H1N1-A, THE event we have been waiting for? There truly is no certain way of telling. At least not yet. Only time and experience will tell.
The early returns, and make no mistake, we are early in this game, seem to indicate that percentage-wise this is no worse than the normal seasonal flu. In other words we can expect that a certain small percentage of people who contract the flu may succumb as a result. This is not a variation from what we normally see, and therefore well within expectations for any flu strain, novel or not. This leaves us only with a flu virus that is novel, and which arrived – or was discovered any way – late in the normal season.
Should we make preps that will carry us through in the event that this virus turns out to be another 1918-like infection? Of course. The better prepared you and I are for something which history tells us is as inevitable as death and taxes the better we will all fare when the time comes.
Does that mean that preparation bordering on panic is called for? If we were facing the possibility of a nuclear conflict sometime in the next 1-2 weeks it might be justified. One could be excused if they fought over the last shovel or last bag of rice at the bulk market, if they left their employment without notice and ran for the hills far, far away.
But we aren’t facing such a crisis. Truth be told we do not yet know with any certainty whether we face a crisis at all, or whether it may be just another anomalous blip on the screen of history, another false start as it were. Yes, the disease surveillance networks are watching this event with bated breath, as they should be. That is why they exist, to keep watch and sound the warning when the wolves arrive at the gates. After that it is up to us – you and I and our respective neighbors – to take active measures to protect ourselves as well as those dear to us.
The media is in a literal feeding frenzy, eager to report yet more seeming disastrously bad news. They thrive upon it in fact. Meanwhile the prudent prepper goes about quietly preparing for the inevitable, whether it arrives, today, tomorrow, or in their children’s lifetime. We take stock of what we have, rotate foods, medications and the necessities of daily life so that when the time comes to delve into our self-stored insurance policies we may do so with the confidence that we have done all humanly possible as within our means.
The very same government that enjoins us to make personal preps is the same one that on the other hand chides us for clinging to our Bibles and our guns. Put another way we clutch our values close to our hearts – whatever those values may be – and the means to protect our chosen way of life. Substitute the Torah, the Book of Morman or the Koran as you will, and insurance policies, food stores or a garage full of tools, and you still have the same thing; you have values held close to the heart and the means to protect those values as they play a role in your everyday life.
Watch, listen, pay attention, and above all be aware of what is going on around you. Stay informed, share with others whether they might agree with your present point of view of not, and be ready, whether anything of an apocalyptic nature occurs or not.