After listening to the news and reading almost identical headlines throughout the media for the last 2 weeks, I thought I'd do some basic statistical research in a personal attempt to achieve some meaningful perspective.
I also remember many decades ago in my youth when I was studying Buddhism, as I meditated each evening, I used to ask for enlightenment and understanding why people did the things they did to others. As I grew older and gained that enlightenment and understanding, I stopped asking - because the truthful answers I received were making me angry and turning me into a jaded, bitter man. Age has mellowed me somewhat, but this particular exercise brought back some profound emotions and rekindled some latent anger.
So below the stylized Nematomorpha, I present my findings; as an old mentor of mine told me a long time ago, "If the truth hurts, then it probably should."
These are verified statistics from reliable sources (as if anyone believes that anymore):
92 people per day - 33,500 per year - die from highway accidents; an additional 5 million become injured or disabled as a result of accidents. - a large proportion of which are alcohol-related.
1,200 people per day - 443,000 per year - die from tobacco use or exposure to it; and additional 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by tobacco use or exposure to it.
And now, less than a dozen people get sick and one person dies from Ebola in the continental U.S. - a disease first discovered in Africa in 1976 which, until recently, nobody has given the slightest thought - and everyone is going bat-s**t insane crazy with fear - especially the conservative “news” media doing its usual weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Maybe I’m suffering from post - 1960s dementia or a latent personality disorder, but isn’t there something seriously screwed up with priorities here? They’ve known about Ebola for 38 years, but it seems like the attitude of the U.S. has been, “Hey, at least it’s killing them over there instead of killing us over here.” Meanwhile it appears that everyone is completely comfortable with the current state of highway carnage and self-inflicted death from tobacco, all in the name of “freedom” - and rabidly protected by the various industries that profit from it through the purchase of the best government they can buy. In essence, we are killing more of ourselves through indifference and laizzez-faire rule of law that affects our own citizens’s safety and quality of life than any terrorist, disease or natural disaster. It therefore could be reasonably postulated that we are under biological attack - from ourselves. Ebola could have been studied and a cure possibly found by now - but we didn't. Federal laws that permanently prevent first offense DUI offenders from possessing any motor vehicle operator's license could have been passed - but they won't. Federal law that properly considers any nicotine delivery system as a Schedule 1 drug could have been passed and enforced - but it'll never happen. Why? That old 4 letter word: M - O - N - E - Y.
This “caveat emptor” government which relies on the “freedom of choice” gambit to the detriment of the public - including those people who keep reelecting it - is eventually going to destroy this country…. but maybe that’s the point: after all in death, one is truly “free”.