Let's All Panic!

Let's see, what's in the news today that's annoying me?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/11/sick_iowa_kitty_had_swine_flu.html

If you actually read that link, you get the idea what the story is about. Now, first off, I have a qualifier. I'm not glad that the cat got swine flu or anything like that. I may hate dogs, but I love cats. I'm not pointing at this story like, oh, haha, the cat got sick! Actually, I'm pointing at this story to illustrate how it is that the media likes to scare the everliving shit out of people. Sure, it doesn't come right out and say it in the article, but you know the immediate knee-jerk reaction from about 99.8% of everyone who reads that, or any other article about this story, will be to FREAK OUT. Because that's what people do best, and that's what the media likes to exploit. It's called sensationalism people, and that's a best-case scenario. The media does this because it gets them ratings and advertising dollars and all that fun stuff, but what is far, far worse is that the government allows...no, strike that...the government ENCOURAGES this sort of fear-mongering, because nothing is more easily manipulated than a frightened public. If people think it will save them from swine flu, or terrorists, or Nazis, or communists, or homosexuals, or whatever else, they will do whatever the hell the government says they should do, and they will agree to things that they would ordinarily never agree to, and they will do this happily because they have no idea what to do about it on their own and they need somebody else to tell them how to think. I don't know about anyone else, but this appalls and terrifies me, and what invariably happens is that the government takes advantage of this fear to push through some ridiculous legislation or serve up some vaccine, and you know what? Swine flu vaccine will probably contain some sort of tracking device so they can pin you down at all times, or it'll turn you and millions of other people into zombies that they can drop into Afghanistan because, hey, an army that can't be killed because it's already dead! I'm exaggerating, but I'm not, you know?

Look people, homosexuals are just people, they're not going to hurt you with their pithy humor, fabulous clothes, or fastidious living spaces. Communists barely exist in practice, and communism isn't the horrible thing Glenn Beck tells you it is, but you don't actually know what it is, now, do you? Read a book, people. Also, people cannot be both communists and Nazis, they are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, so don't be stupid. Besides, nobody is like the Nazis. Except Wal-Mart (thanks to Bill Maher on that one). Terrorists aren't going to get you, you live in the boonies in the midwest, they don't care about you. And finally, swine flu...well, that might get you. Probably not, but it could. But here's the good news: it's not actually any worse than normal flu. In terms of symptoms, it's just about the same, and its mortality rate is something like a tenth what the normal flu is. So don't freak out about the cat getting swine flu, it's not fun, but shit happens. Don't be panicky, don't let the media influence you, and don't let anyone tell you what to do or how to think. Draw your own conclusions. It's only a little more difficult, and it's a lot more rewarding.