It's sweeping the nation.
Infecting virtually every household in the land.
Ebola. Is it Captain Trips? Is it the apocalypse? Is it a vast left wing conspiracy to increase the size and scope of government? Is it just a coincidence that the first outbreak is in the heart of conservative country, Dallas?
Okay. let's step back from the ledge of lunacy just a bit.
Ebola is scary. It has a high rate of fatalities, particularly in areas with low health care standards. It kills in a nasty way. It is not an airborne disease, and it's communicability is relatively low, especially when you use sanitary precautions, keeping your hands washed and not contacting the bodily fluids of victims.
The response of our health care system, although better than most, has not been ideal. Both the Texas hospital and the CDC have fallen short in some instances. It's something they're struggling with, as we all are. Our overall health system tends to leave the front line staff more vulnerable than they should be. Doctors are treated sometimes like gods...nurses somewhat less so. Maybe this in some small part will wake us up to that, and help begin to change how we view nurses, and increase their level of protection. Like 911, it demonstrates the courage and vital contributions of our front line people.
I'm concerned, but I'm not all that panicked. I do wonder if the current Ebola strain is not somewhat more virulent and contagious than those in the past. Viruses do evolve and mutate. One of the most troubling things is that our overuse of antibiotics are creating superbugs that are resistant. Eventually, I fear that may be our Captain Trips (for those who are not Stephen King fans, Captain Trips is the superflu that wipes out all but a small number of the human race).
Despite some stumbles by the CDC, I think our government is doing a good job trying to handle this. Our government excluding most of the Republican party, that is. And our media, of course, has gone way overboard, especially that hotbed of anti-Obamanism, Fox News. It is the new crisis du jour.
Republicans are making it the new centerpiece of their midterm campaign, as Benghazi has lost its bite except to the rabid, and Obamacare is too successful to make even incoherent attacks on. It is laughable to see Senator McConnell of Kentucky talk about repealing Obamacare in full, while saying Kentucky's KYNECT (which is the state name for OBAMACARE) will stay intact.
So, since they are making it a major campaign issue, what is it that Republicans want?
I asked that on Facebook, and got very little response from conservatives. This is the best I can gather -
WE NEED TO HAVE AN EBOLA CZAR.
Yes, the same party that invented calling some government organizational heads czars, in order to demean them and suggest they were undemocratic, are demanding one be placed at the head of this crisis.
So, on Friday, the President appointed an Ebola Response Coordinator.
Satisfied, my Republican friends?
Oh, H to the no! Now they fuss and fume about who the President appointed. Why, what's wrong with putting HHS (cabinet head of Health and Human Services) in charge? Well, I don't know, other than that's not what you were asking for JUST A DAY AGO!
It's just another example that it has nothing to do with Ebola or czars or anything else. It is just another verse in their one song, the I HATE OBAMA chorus.
And this is the same party that has refused to approve the nomination of the Surgeon General, a really swell person to have in a crisis like this. Why? Because the NRA didn't like them. To fully explain why is beyond the scope of this post, something to do with the health care aspects of gun control. Just understand this - a gun lobby group has control over who gets to be Surgeon General. Absorb that one for a minute.
THE CDC MAKES MISTAKES THEREFORE GOVERNMENT SUCKS
The CDC makes mistakes. Uncomfortable, yes. But welcome to the human race. Government makes mistakes. Big corporations make mistakes. Small businesses make mistakes. Churches, civic groups, sports teams, on an on, all make mistakes. Individuals make mistakes (I am practically an industry leader in that regard). But do you have the capacity to accept your mistakes and learn from them? Government SHOULD have more transparency than most organizations, and therefore it should be easier to catch mistakes, and assign responsibility and hold the right parties accountable. At least that's how it works in a democracy. Of course, we are moving towards an oligarchic form of government, but that is another topic for another Saturday.
When you cut budgets short, it has an effect. Republicans insisted on cutting the CDC budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. That has to have an effect on their ability to respond. They cut the budget to the NIH (National Institute of Health) to the point that, according to the NIH Director, it slowed the development of an Ebola vaccine. Gee, wouldn't that be swell to have.
WE NEED TO CUT OFF AIR TRAVEL TO WEST AFRICA AND ISOLATE THEM
Ah, yes. The old 'circle the wagons' mentality. And I guess we need to throw in Dallas and Cleveland now, as well?
If we're going to beat this, we need to eliminate it where it started. That means travel. That means extensive aid and assistance. That means health care assistance and building facilities and improving sanitation standards. That means nurse and doctors and military and engineers and missionaries and caring and love. You know. all the stuff Jesus talked about. Is it a risk? Maybe. But this will not just burn itself out. You cannot just leave it. If you do, it won't disappear. It will spread and come to your doorstep.
Use some common sense precautions. Screen and check temps. But trying to isolate Ebola patients is just going to drive them underground, and it will spread even faster, as they try to avoid discovery. They will still travel...they will just be harder to detect as they will not report or disclose their conditions. Like it or not, we are a global world now. Thankfully, Ebola is not airborne. We can monitor this and contain it's growth if we use basic cautions.
But nothing good will come of isolation. We must help those in greatest need. We must, for the good of the planet, eliminate it at its source.
And it's the morally correct thing to do.
Just ask Jesus.
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