It seems as though the H1N1 isn’t quite as bad as we thought it was going to be. Mexico clearly just did not have sufficient capabilities for dealing with it. In the US, however, it seems that we are functioning just fine with the Pig Influenza. Thus the Swine Flu TShirts Abound.
Some would even say that the Swine 09 pandemic is quite a bit overblown. The media sure ratcheted up quickly on this one. And while it does go to show that we can dessiminate information very quickly, it also show medias ability to alarm en masse. I will say that if the growth of the flu outpaces our medical inventories it could potentially be a very serious problem. However, for the time being the infection rates do not seem to be growing by significant exponential factors. For now, at least, I know that I feel safe. I also have full confidence in our medical system to deal with the issue.
Society
There was a time where I had this bumper sticker on the back of my car. That was during the Bush administration, and I felt the same way. It doesn’t matter to me who is in office, I feel the same way about this. I suppose if some game changer like Ron Paul were in office, it might be different, but I haven’t seen any reason not to feel this way regardless of who the president is.
The sticker, Don’t steal, the government hates competition, rings true for many as we begin to work more and more for the government. Unfortunately, I fear that we are creating a society which is so dependent upon government that we will really have no choice but to continue the socialist model. It is sad, but we have seen periods of time like this before. Under Roosevelt I think many Americans saw similar changes taking place. We managed to come out OK, but there has been a feeling of “creeping socialism” for almost 100 years now.
Business, Society