An interesting quote about media coverage of the swine flu from Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today: "The media would not be tempted to overhype the swine flu if it didn't believe people were genuinely worried about it. But it's hard to understand why the swine flu elicited such fear. Even when we are told that flu viruses kill some 36,000 Americans annually, and that the swine flu has yet to kill five—well, it doesn't seem to calm us.
That may be because the "normal" flu tends to kill only infants and the elderly, while the swine flu can kill perfectly healthy people in the middle of life—people like us! While we pride ourselves on our compassion for the defenseless (i.e., infants and the elderly), this hints at another contradiction: We can live comfortably with the fact that viruses kill tens of thousands annually—as long as the victims are infants and elderly. We only panic when we hear that people like us are threatened, even if only a few dozen of us."
What do you think?
2 comments:
I think the media has overhyped the swine flu, and the government is responsible for that. I don't trust the government with my health. I hear their recommendations, and I do my own research from scientific studies and such. I think it is a shame that many Americans are ageist. I also believe that those with uncompromised, untampered with immune systems and good diets should not be worried about many illnesses. Unfortunately in a culture submitting to the ideas of western medicine, that isn't many.
I also do not trust the government for our health! Too many people in the various agencies are motivated by money, not by genuine concern for the citizens.
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