“It’s madness … madness I tell you!” –Phoebe Buffay
This classic scene from the first season of Friends perfectly depicts my reaction to the current swine flu hype. Yes, we need to understand what we’re facing. Yes, we need to take steps to prevent spreading this strand of the flu. But can we all agree that it’s not like the world is about to end (despite what some in the media would have you believe)? As of this morning, the CDC reports 226 cases of swine flu and one death.
Let’s put this in perspective:
- 1,500 Americans die each year from cancer
- 700,000 die from heart disease
- More than 3 women a day are murdered by their boyfriends or husbands in America.
- 5.1 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. Every 70 seconds, someone else in America develops Alzheimer’s.
- Regular flu is the seventh leading cause of death.
I’m not making light of swine flu. At the same time, sometimes people just need to take a step back … put things in perspective … get a grip. (For a similar perspective on this, check out Lauren Fernandez’s “LAF Loves Bacon” post.)
I saw someone post a message on Twitter that said: “90 ppl have swine flu & everyone wants to wear a mask. A million people have AIDS & no one wants to wear a condom.” Instead of running around with masks, how about we take off the blinders and make a better effort on the real issues and ailments that hurt society?