World fear

Recently we had dinner with friends at a pleasant club.
The discussion at the table came around to a question from one person, (we will call him Bob)
"...Jennifer, in your profession you would come across a number of unhealthy people who could give you the flu, Does that scare you?'
This then led to the subject at the height of the news at the moment about the 'swine flu'.
What is the swine flu?.... What is the Bird flu?... What is the Hong Kong flu?......What is the common flu? I must ask you a question here.........Is there any difference? Oh yes there is probably some difference between the different types but we seem to have the same thing happen each year, A different strain of flu that the authorities warn us to take extra care, cover our mouths with a mask, don't do this or that etc.
My personal feeling on the subject is......
Each year the authorities come out with a new 'fear' that we need to be concerned about and take certain precautions about like ....Go to your Doctor, Get the vacine, and generally be fearful of .......
Just think back to other fears that the media has talked us up to:
the y2k bug.
Oil crisis.
Rat plaque.
Hong Kong flu.
Bird flu.
Swine flu.
Makes you think doesn't it?
What other fears has the media and authorities instilled into our minds over the years.

Point to remember...........People die each year by the hundreds of the COMMON flu!
Is this time any different?

To answer my friend at the club, my wife stated some of the above facts and all he could say was.......mmmmmmm!!
I replied by saying "you drive your car on the roads every day without realy thinking that you could be one of the hundreds of people killed each year from car accidents....are you going to change things because of the 'fear' of driving?

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Talk Soon
FrankW