Of pigs and men

My beloved colleagues are at it again.

• Fears grow as new swine flu cases are confirmed (Fox)


• Swine flu fear spreads with new cases in U.S. (MSNBC)


• More swine flu hits U.S., emergency in Mexico (CNN)


• 2 Swine Flus in Kan., US Total 11; 8 Likely in NYC (ABC)


• Swine flu has "pandemic potential" (CBS)

That's right. They're trying to scare you, and this time it's not some terrorist (read: Islamic) threat. No, this time it's the dreaded swine flu. From Mexico.

The horrors. From listening to the news readers on the tubes, you'd think it was bubonic plague. It's not. It is a particularly virulent strain of flu, largely because it's relatively new. But like any other strain of flu, it will vary in severity from mild to severe. Some people, usually the very young, the very old and those with compromised immune systems, may die. And sometimes, peeople who don't fit into those three categories may contract the virus and die.

Right now, in the United States, there are 11 confirmed cases of this new strain of swine flu -- nine in California and two each in Texas and Kansas. There may be more cases in New York, but that has not yet been confirmed. No one in the United States has died from the swine flu.

So far, in the flu season that began in the first week of October 2008, there have been 26,000 confirmed cases of the flu in the United States. There have probably been a lot more, because the CDC doesn't test everyone who has flu-like symptoms. In fact, the CDC estimates that an average of 36,000 people in the United States die from the flu -- any strain -- or complications from the flu each year.

Mexico is having a much more serious outbreak of this particular strain of influenza, but it is not on the scale of the bubonic plague either. More than 1,300 people have been hospitalized recently with flu-like symptoms, and health officials say that at least 81 people are likely to have died from the strain. Officials there have confirmed 20 cases of this strain of swine flu. Not all have died.

The World Health Organization has convened a meeting of influenza experts to take a closer look at what's going on and decide what action, if any, to take. They did say it was a "public health emergency of international concern." WHO is concerned because this particular strain has never been seen before and because in Mexico, it appears to be affecting young, relatively healthy people rather than the groups normally susceptible to the virus.

Swine flu is a disease of pigs that may be spread to humans who come in contact with infected pigs. It is a contagious disease, and may also spread from human to human. But it is not spread through eating meat from an infected animal.

And about those flu shots. Every year, the experts get together and figure out what strains of influenza they think will be predominant in the coming flu season, and they concoct a vaccination based on their predictions. Like any vaccine, it will not prevent you from contracting the disease. It may make it less likely. Because this strain of swine flu is brand new, there's nothing in this year's flu vaccine to counter it.

Now you have the facts, which my colleagues are giving you, but they are stuffing them in between large doses of breathless fearmongering. And here's why.

My lovely colleagues are scared out of their ever-loving minds. This week, it's been proven that the United States tortured its prisoners during the Bush administration. A lot of people knew about it and approved of it. A lot of people lied about it and are still lying about it.

This is the most perplexing dilemma my colleagues have faced in a long time -- how do they report this? If they report that the United States tortured people, they are being biased toward the Democrats. If they continue to use the Republican language -- "alternative interrogation techniques," etc. -- then they're supporting the Republican position.

Because they have convinced themselves that their job is to report what everybody says and make no judgment on what they say -- the "he said/she said" school of "journalism" -- and because it is impossible for any sane individual to look at what was done to our prisoners and not call it torture, they don't know what to do. They have completely forgotten their real job -- to look through the various "spins" on the news and tell us what's really going on.

They haven't done that in such a long time that they've not only forgotten that it's what they're supposed to be doing, they've even forgotten how.

All week long they've struggled with this dilemma. They've put pundits on the air to talk about the issue from one side or another. They've focused on various nuances of the matter, like whether the presence of doctors -- who, by the way, violated their Hippocratic Oath just by being there -- meant it wasn't so bad or whether the legal numbskulls who wrote the memos were right to determine that torture isn't torture if you don't intend to actually hurt someone.

And then, at the end of the week came what they were looking for -- a suitable distraction. The journalists' shiny object. And this time it wasn't just the journos' ADD that got triggered. It was their desire to run far, far away from an issue that terrifies them.

Telling the truth.

But I want to tell them, my dear, dear colleagues, to be brave. Telling the truth won't hurt you. In fact, you'll feel quite free once you've done it a few times.

I understand why it scares them. Once they tell the truth about this -- once they say that there is no excuse whatsoever for one human being to do to another human being what the United States government did to those prisoners, it will be such a profound experience they'll start to question everything. Their eyes will be open not only to truth, but the truth about morality.

They'll know that they can no longer put Rick Warren on camera one and Gavin Newsome on camera two, have them talk about same-sex marriage and call it journalism. They'll know that they can't have a guest who calls Barack Obama a socialist or a fascist and not challenge him or her with the truth.

They'll see through the lies and know they must name them. And they'll know that our humanity is defined by how we treat other living things, not how much money we make, or what kind of car we drive or how much power we've taken from others.

That's a lot to ask of one person, especially one who's been so blind for so long and is beginning to see just how wrong one person can be.

But I'm here to tell you, my colleagues, you won't be alone. Stop running from the truth. Stop acting from fear. Stop promoting fear.

Instead, promote the truth. There is, indeed, strength in numbers. And there are already large numbers where you need to be. More will follow.

Step into the light, my friends. Don't be afraid. You don't need to go chasing after the scary swine flu to avoid the scarier torture. It really won't hurt you.

And the truth is, we need you. We need you to record all this, truthfully. To make sure that those who imposed this scourge on us all are held accountable for their crimes. To make sure we never forget what happened to us when we lost our ability to feel compassion, to recognize unethical and immoral behavior.

And to make sure it never, ever happens again.

This is the change I voted for in November -- a fundamental shift in world view.

Without it, we're nothing.


News Writer
AWOP Political Contributing Editor
Author of Stop the Press!

Cross-posted at Stop the Press!

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Peace Y'all