Of course, we are not ready for an epidemic of any sorts, especially not like the 2014 Ebola outbreak. The United States, in particular, is extremely talented at pretending to know how to do things, but not at actually doing them. I personally believe this is a direct result of an increase in the size and strength of the federal government.
Frankly, the government is not very good at doing most things. We have certainly come to learn that not always are the best people nominated for, elected to, or appointed to some of the most important positions in the nation. Not only are they sometimes quite bad people, but many happen to be very incompetent. When a government is full of individuals who are power-hungry and also incompetent, it’s a very scary combination. And that is what we have here, today. Further, Americans have been largely conditioned to think that the government, not the private sector, is far more capable of solving problems effectively. Therefore, our reliance on the government is exaggerated and our tendencies to vote for people who promise to strengthen the government often prosper.
However, to digress, this emphasizes our unpreparedness for another endemic. When, in 2014, Ebola even reared its head in the United States, there was a nationwide freak out, of sorts. Government officials had no idea what to do, therefore allowing for poor procedure to take place. In consequent, when trusted officials and other people of authority seem to be without an answer, a panic ensues and people search elsewhere for answers, making them vulnerable to false claims. This is exactly what we saw in the African nations that Ebola affected, on a much larger scale than in the United States.
In regards to the private sector’s inherent ability to solve problems with enhanced effectiveness, we saw this in action during the Ebola outbreak. Doctors Without Borders, a private company, did much of the dirty work in the face of Ebola. This would very likely be the case, as well, in the event of an American outbreak. Our government has proved time and time again that it is incapable of alleviating natural disasters with effectiveness, and private companies and citizens take up much of the relief effort. There is no reason to believe that a health risk like this would be any different.
I believe, as well, that we have a population that believes that since they’re immune to polio, nothing bad can ever happen again. This is a dangerous and, frankly, extremely privileged take on the very real possibility of an endemic in America. Moreover, this will plague a community far more than the disease could, since the laid-back, “it-could-never-happen-to-me” mindset allows for the people to not understand the severity of what is happening.
Along with people failing to understand the severity, we have a notoriously dishonest media in America that would very poorly relay information regarding the outbreak. We saw with the earthquake in Haiti that CNN and other mainstream outlets are simply incapable of gaining the trust of the American people due to their poor reporting. All of these factors play into the fact that our government and our people are nowhere near ready for any sort of endemic in America.
I agree that the United States has this belief that they are invincible to things. This belief stems from the federal government and media feeding us false information. As a nation, we like to believe anything that someone with power tells us, which is a dangerous thing. I do think its interesting how the government completely dropped the ball on the Ebola outbreak, leaving NGOs to clean up their mess, yet many Americans were quick to forget out it. More focus needs to be put on the private sector of this country because clearly the federal government is incapable of doing anything except argue about how things should be done, without actually getting anything done. I agree with your final comment that our government and our people are nowhere near ready for an epidemic. We keep telling ourselves that we are, but as seen with the Ebola outbreak, our beliefs are completely inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the United States is not ready for any sort of epidemic. During the ebola outbreak, I remember when people who had been anywhere near the disease entered the United States and it was breaking news. There is an issue with what the media decides to emphasize and what it decides not to disclose. I also agree that privilege is a factor in people's fear. As the culture in the United State's is extremely different from the of Western Africa, I believe that diseases such as ebola would spread slightly differently. However, the American people are extremely reluctant to see the faults in their government.
ReplyDeleteI would also agree that the initial response to Ebola was botched, and that the government is mostly ineffective at handling crises effectively. If Ebola were to ever rear its head again, I wonder if they will learn anything from the first time. I also completely agree with the media overblowing things, which we also saw with regards to Haiti. Finally, I agree about the bulletproof reputation that we give ourselves. Polio has not actually been eradicated, even though health organizations have been trying to do so for the past 30 years. I think this is another reason we freaked out about Ebola: we, people in a "modern" society, we uncomfortable that we could be vulnerable to a disease that we thought was only a problem for Third World countries.
ReplyDeleteI agree greatly that there is a sort of naivety in the U.S., a feeling of invincibility that the rest of the world is not perceived to have (an invincibility that no one truly has). I also agree that while the media is an obviously useful institution, it can help perpetuate a lot of ignorance and/or fear, something that is not conducive to a stable response to crisis. I don't necessarily know if private sector involvement would be much better than the government, as the private sector can most certainly have its own agenda to fight for and argue over, an agenda that can mean more to them than people do (however we already see this with many politicians so perhaps it would not make a vast difference). I think we certainly need to reevaluate our current system and implement changes where necessary, whether that be giving more control to the private sector, reshaping the government as we know it, or some other solution. It may be implausible, but it does not negate how necessary such changes are, not just for pandemic response, but for general societal stability.
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