There is a group of viruses that people normally encounter that are lumped under the term influenza. Then there are others, strains that generally don’t have any effect on humans but do strike other species such as pigs, horses and birds. Some of the set of symptoms associated with the flu are the same symptoms associated with the common cold and heavy allergy attacks. This is part of life on Earth and there are two ways out…dying or leaving the planet.
This past week we have heard all sorts of reports of outbreaks of flu infections associated with the outbreaks in Mexico and in other parts of the world. All this reporting with little to no facts causes a form of hypochondria in people not normally known to be hypochondriacs. If left unchecked we reach a point where every cough, sniffle or sneeze is suspect flu-related. First they tell you how many suspected cases there are, then how many are confirmed. People don’t pay as much attention to the second number. All attention gets focused on how many suspected cases there are.
There is a point in the reporting of any ongoing crisis, a threshold, if you will, where if we continue passively to listen we place ourselves in bondage to the speakers. It does not matter whether the reporting is from the mainstream media, often a mouthpiece of the government, or the government itself. It is the endless repetition that is the tool. If a thing can be told and retold often enough it becomes reality to the listener.
It’s time to start taking back our lives from the flu-mongers. Begin to listen critically whenever anyone, myself included, tells you anything regarding this outbreak. If the talking head is saying the same thing it said an hour ago, it’s not talking to you. Its talking to the person who hasn’t already heard. I’m not saying this is not a serious disease and I am not trying to downplay or make light of anyone’s situation who is suffering or knows someone who is suffering from it. My sole purpose in writing this is to encourage reason.