We know 63,000 people die in this country every year from the flu and pneumonia.
We know 40,000 people die in this country every year from car crashes.
We know 650,000 people die from heart disease each year. 552,000 die from cancer.
We know nephritis, chronic lower respiratory diseases, diabetes, and stroke all claim tens of thousands of lives.
We know the last major outbreak of swine flu in the U.S. left one person dead from the flu virus itself. Four others got sick. 30 people died from complications of the vaccine which was rushed into every major city. Dozens of others were paralyzed by a neurological disorder caused by the same vaccine.
We know, so far, less than 200 people worldwide have died from swine flu in the outbreak of 2009.
We know hundreds of others have recovered with no ill effects.
We know, once again, there are fears of a global pandemic.
We know, once again, there's a call for a vaccine to be rushed into every major city.
We know there are steps we can take to minimize our potential exposure to swine flu.
We know we have a relatively small chance of contracting it.
We know that fears of swine flu's devastating effects are just that: fears.
We know those fears are based on a few, isolated cases.
History, of course, is filled with blunders which resulted from warnings which were ignored and voices which were silenced. There are also countless better-safe-than-sorry crises which have never materialized.
But history's biggest blunders, more often than not, have come from panic and hysteria -- the desperation which walks hand-in-hand with overwhelming fear.
Even if the swine flu outbreak of 2009 never manifests into a full-blown pandemic, we risk at best, a waste of time and resources. And at worst, real harm.
We know this because we know what's happened before. We know there are far worse threats to fuel our fears. And we know we have the power to make sure our fear never overcomes our common sense.
