Threats, Real and Imagined
Mankind’s existence is always being threatened, or so it seems. The number of societal-threatening events that have occurred in roughly the last thirty years is nothing short of amazing.
In 1976, hundreds of people became sick and dozens died at a convention in Philadelphia from what later became known as “Legionnaire’s Disease.” The illness was initially unrecognized, and it was feared that this “mystery” disease might break out into the general population with catastrophic results.
In the late 1970’s, Newsweek cited several scientific climactic studies that pointed to an unmistakable cooling trend in the Earth’s weather pattern, one that might lead to the return of a global ice age. All manner of climate-related doomsday scenarios sprang forth from the press.
Remember the “killer bee” threat? A version of an “Africanized” bee from South America-unusually aggressive bees that were supposedly extremely dangerous and difficult to control-had apparently made their way up into the southern-most regions of the United States. The worry was that these bees would be able to mate with the indigenous bees in the U.S., creating a hybrid population of super-aggressive insects, able to survive colder weather and migrate all over the country, menacing the population.
Then there was the Ebola Virus. A particularly deadly disease, characterized by internal and external bleeding, overall body pain, vomiting, it has no known treatment. Mortality rates are as high as 90%. There was widespread speculation that this might break out into a global epidemic.
Ebola was quickly followed by the “Flesh-eating” Virus (Necrotizing fasciitis). A few well-publicized cases of this tissue-destroying disease once again caused rampant speculation about the potential for a worldwide health crisis.
The latest health scare, of course, is the H5N1 “Bird Flu.” As the sky-is-falling crowd breathlessly awaits the evidence that the flu has mutated into a form easily transmittable from human to human, every isolated incidence of the illness is seemingly gleefully reported by the doomsday media.
Even AIDS has “disappointed” those who were expecting it to break out into the general population and cause incalculable harm.
The Mother-of-All threats de jour to our existence is, without question, Global Warming. Despite a veritable mountain of evidence that at the very least calls into question the inevitability of a total permanent meltdown, Global Warming has become the newest cause celebre of the Antique Media. No matter that slowly rising sea levels and any consequent significant shoreline encroachment are centuries away.
All of the foregoing so-called “threats” to our existence (and there are undoubtedly many more which have been omitted from the list) have one important thing in common: None of them have come to pass. None of them.
They also have one other, just as important, thing in common: They’re either just blameless occurrences of nature or they’re the fault of Conservative Republicans. In the case of Global Warming, the Antique Media clearly imply that it’s the result of shameless capitalistic Republicans and their ruthless pursuit of profits, operating their money-churning businesses without regard to the environment, employing illegal immigrants for slave wages in sweat shops, while denying them taxpayer-funded health benefits. All authorized and approved by President Bush, needless to say.
Read the whole thing.
He goes on to point out that the real threat facing us is Radical Islamic terrorism, and the lefties/MSM/Dems are either silent on that one, or are in denial that it is a threat at all. In other words, they are quite eager to scare us with phony, nonexistent threats, but can’t seem to mobilize themselves to talk about he real threat.
Any guesses why that might be?
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