Swine flu? I'm in two minds. I'm inclined to think it's all a bit of an over-reaction but on the other hand, Simon Jenkins isn't exactly helping. He argues it's all a bit irrational to worry about it and then puts forward an argument for not worrying that isn't exactly the epitome of rationality itself. For example:
"We appear to have lost all ability to judge risk. The cause may lie in the national curriculum, the decline of "news" or the rise of blogs..."Blogs and the national curriculum... eh?
Problem is you can't take the people who want us to panic seriously but you can't take those who don't want us to panic seriously either. Nobody knows anything, it seems. To confuse matters further, I'll throw this thought in: while Jenkins is right to point out recent government over-reaction to this sort of thing, there is also an older and rather longer history of governments under-reacting to this sort of thing. (See under: 19th century, cholera etc.) Bearing this in mind, perhaps we shouldn't worry too much about the fact that people worry too much... if you know what I mean?
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