Thursday, April 30, 2009

Don't believe everything you hear ...

This from Chris Lindley, the director of public health preparedness and response in Colorado:

I heard an anchor on a major network expressed her fear after hearing that a soldier had been diagnosed with H1N1. Then, I hear from my colleagues about talk radio shows pushing ridiculous commentary about closing borders, even criticizing particular groups of people of color as having been responsible for the origin of this flu. Wow, I guess they missed high school biology.

A pandemic, or even just a new disease with no known immunization yet available, leaves people feeling powerless, so the weak-minded try to blame someone. They strive to overcome their feelings of impotence and create the illusion of power by finding scapegoats to blame and even ostracize. Data and science do not always play much of a role in their thinking processes.

Give your mind a break. Limit 24/7 news. Instead, refer to your local, state, and federal public health officials for information, not a talk show host who clearly failed high school biology. The media needs to fill the time they have and whether there is big news or no news, they will fill it with whatever talking head they can find. Instead of that extra news show, try watching a funny movie, play a game of cards with your family or better yet get some exercise (you know you need it!). Keep balance in your life and you will weather the current storm or any storm.

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