We Just Don't Know!

When will bird flu strike the USA? Is the New York transport system at risk of an imminent terrorist attack? When can we expect another Katrina, or an earthquake to match that in Asia? Such questions, busily nourished by the media, lead to increased anxiety in our minds, and tempt us to blame the government, state, and city authorities for apparent lack of preparedness.

The great flu epidemic of 1918 caused over 20 million deaths worldwide; bird flu may possibly cause 2 million deaths in the USA alone, so we are told. How imminent is it? We just don’t know! So we demand that the government speed up the stocking of vaccines and drugs.

Pity poor Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Homeland Security. Given a report of a specific credible terrorist threat to the NYC transport system, they faced a dilemma: should the general public be warned or not? If the attack were aborted, would there be more accusations of raising false alarms? The mayor chose one option (tell the public and institute increased security) while the DHS declared the terrorist warning was “unconfirmed”. Which was right? We just don’t know! The media (and the public), however, focused on the conflicting options as another example of government disorganization.

Although catastrophic events are always with us, they don’t, in fact, present serious risk to the vast majority of individuals – at least not those living in the USA. (The ill effects of natural disasters - earthquakes, floods, tsunamis – are immensely greater overseas.) We live in an uncertain world. We should get used to it – act sensibly, live our life fully, and leave the worrying to those paid to do it – experts, think-tanks, and our elected officials.

So, instead of howling “the government ought to . . .” we should be thinking a bit more individually. “I ought to eat more sensibly, exercise more, stop smoking, go for my medical check-up, have a mammogram,” (or whatever you need to improve your healthful lifestyle). And stop worrying about what we don’t know!