Scary Times
Waking up this morning I was all bright and cheerful and looking forward to heading out on my travels again. I wandered downstairs and said “Good morning” to my friends Jill & Brian. The TV was on and and tuned to a local news channel. I noticed the picture was of an airport and started paying attention, just in case there were flight delays. There were not. It was way scarier than that. The US government were warning people not to travel to Mexico in light of the Swine Flu which has started to move across the world. It appears that the flu which has not yet claimed a victim in the USA is, if the news is to be believed on its way to becoming a pandemic. Indeed, the virus has caused enough concern that leading European politicians are urging Americans not to cross the Atlantic and vice versa. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps I should not be hopping on a plane and heading to a major city. I was already in one major city and I doubted crossing to the west coast would increase my danger. I’m not the sort of person that easily succumbs to panic and I was annoyed that I was letting myself be swayed by the media.
On arriving at the Denver International Airport I was surprised that staff and travelers were not wearing protective masks. Every TV screen in the terminal seemed to be showing footage of hospitals or commuters in Mexico taking all possible precautions not to succumb to the microscopic bodily invaders. Am I the only one that sees the irony, that only several weeks ago the news coverage was full of stories of a virus if different kind. The Confiker computer virus. Both of these unwanted invaders have had the effect of bringing the world to the brink of all out panic. Whilst the one was surely man-made the other is a more natural phenomenon, although our modern lives are certainly to blame for its rapid spread and probably its mutation from a weaker strain. Like computer virus protection I am sure that people will only seek care once it is too late. Of course in the case of flu vaccine there will be no online free alternative and those that can afford it will be most likely to recieve an injection. So whilst our healthcare professionals work diligently and without prejudice to stem the tide of the fever, our way of life and need to travel will conspire against them. Questions will be asked about how this could happen and excuses will be made. At no time will anyone have the balls to stand up and remind the populace that this is not the fault of anyone. Our blame culture will not allow that. The simple truth is, that we are not the pinnacle of evolution.
The human race is not a divine species. We share our fragile planet and our all to fragile lives with many other lifeforms. All of them have as much right to exist as we do. You may not like it, you don’t have to try to understand it. It is the way it is. As the flu virus spreads across the globe, so did humans. Over the entire course of pre-history and history mankind has caused far more damage than any virus ever will.
Now if that thought does not change the way you look at life, I wonder what will.
