To Disserve Mankind

On the wires yesterday was a blurb about the New York State Health department's plans to run an aggressive ad campaign over the summer about avian flu. You'd think, they were going to spend this money to encourage people to prepare. But you'd be wrong. The focus of this press barrage is to assure people that, when H5N1 infected birds arrive in this country, there is no need to panic.

Once again, the schizophrenic nature of our government is on display, and a confused and weary citizenry is left with a quizzical and exasperated look on their faces. On one hand, we have Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt urging individual and community preparations for a possible pandemic, while the combined political machinery of the rest of the government is seemingly intent on quashing, or at least minimizing, bird flu fears.

In fact, the more the media picks up on the potential for a pandemic, the louder the hollow voices of reassurance become. With the arrival of an ABC TV movie in two weeks depicting a possible bird flu pandemic, I fully expect the promulgators of pandemic passivity to grow even louder.

It seems, our government fears public awareness more than the H5N1 virus. And that’s a real shame. It is both irritating and insulting that the government doesn’t trust its own people with the truth. And the truth is very simple.

A pandemic may be coming. It may happen tomorrow, next month or next year. It might not happen at all. But the signs are there, and many scientists are very concerned. If it happens, it will come swiftly, and there will be precious little time to prepare.

All Americans should begin planning and preparing now, to the best of their abilities, to withstand a catastrophic event. If it happens, the federal government will be powerless to stop it, and limited in what it can do to help individuals and communities. No one knows how bad it will be, but it could be very bad. Disruptions, possibly severe ones, could appear in the economy, essential services, and the supply chain. People should prepare to isolate themselves, and their families, in their homes for at least 3 months. That means ample food, water, and medicine. Those who do not heed this warning, do so at their own risk.

Pretty simple. Why, even a child could understand it.

But there are forces in our government who, for their own reasons, do not want this basic message to get out. At least, not without enough hedging and obfuscation as to make it meaningless. It might, after all, incite panic.

Of course, Americans did not panic during the Cuban Missile crisis. They acted, and reacted, but they did not panic. The economy did not melt down. They considered their options, prepared as best they could, and went on with their lives. Nor did Americans, when faced with the real prospect of nuclear annihilation for 30 years during the cold war, plunge into some deep melancholy or national psychosis.

And after Pearl Harbor, our nation came together in a way that few born since then could imagine, and worked towards solutions for what, at the time, seemed an insurmountable problem.

But then, the government trusted Americans back then. At least more than they do now. But there is more to this than a fear of panic.

Were this not an election year, where the Republicans genuinely fear rejection at the polls and the Democrats are smelling blood in the water, perhaps things would be different. We might enjoy a unified and sensible message from our leaders. But such is not the case. The stakes go far beyond the potential deaths of millions of people; they are much higher than that. The stakes are who will control congress after the November elections, and ultimately the White House in 2008.

While George Bush has recognized the Avian Flu problem and asked congress for funding, he has been largely silent on this issue since November. Very dissappointing. And with the exception of Mike Leavitt, and a few spokespersons from the CDC, the only other government officials we hear from are Governors of states where Leavitt has made an appearance. Where are the leaders in congress? Or the Surgeon General?

Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of this issue, and so the only politically astute option is to say nothing. Push for national awareness and preparation and you risk getting slammed for wasting taxpayer dollars and worrying the public by the opposition. Perhaps even accused of talking down the economy. It just isn’t worth it. Not when your primary goal in life is to retain office.

And the terrible prospect of both parties working together, being on the same page during an election year, is simply too horrible to consider. You give up an advantage by doing so. And nobody is willing to do that.

So, instead of a sensible message we get contradictions, and the public doesn’t know what to believe. If Avian Flu were that big of a deal, if the threat were that serious, we’d be hearing daily from our elected leaders as to how to proceed. Well, that would be the assumption, anyway.

Sadly, Washington D.C. doesn’t work that way.

The Republicans right now are terrified that people might put off buying that new car, or taking that yearly vacation, in order to lay in some essential supplies for a pandemic. Worse, they might sell some stocks to pay for these items, and Wall Street might suffer. That could affect the booming economy, and right now, that is the linchpin of their re-election hopes. Take that away, and the Republican chances to retain power dwindle in the fall.

Democrats meanwhile don’t want to appear to be onboard with a Republican Administration’s efforts to inform the people. Cooperation, six months before the mid-term elections, could damage their chances of regaining the Senate and House. And if nothing happens, they lose the ability to criticize the Republicans later.

And then you throw in all of the lobbyists, from the poultry producers to the hospitality industry, that insist on modifying the message to suit their agendas. It’s no wonder the American public is dazed and confused. And most of them, in light of the conflicting messages, have simply tuned the entire matter out.

Is it a legitimate concern that having people prepare might affect the economy?

Certainly. If 60 million families spent an average of $1000 each, we are talking $60 Billion dollars. That buys a lot of automobiles.

But it is pretty callous to trade a percent or two of economic growth, or an advantage in the upcoming elections, for millions of American lives.

It’s a terrible gamble they take, praying that the scientists are wrong, and that nothing bad will happen.

But, it is a risk they are apparently prepared for you to take.