From the War on Terror to... the War on Bird Flu (!?!)
I appreciate that not every accomplishment/policy/musing of the present President of the United States has been in conformity with the principles of smaller government and individual liberty that are (or should be) the bedrock of the conservative political philosophy supposedly undergirding the Republican Party.
But this? Declaring war on the virus causing Avian Flu and using the military to enforce quarantines where outbreaks are extant?
As one Columbia University professor reacted: “The translation of this is martial law in the United States”.
posted by ROC @ 12:37 am
5 comments
5 Comments:
I have reminded a number of people who have pooh-poohed the avian flu scare of what happened in 1918.
In NZ alone there were some 15,000 deaths as a result of the "asian flu". The big problem then was the fact that long distance travel times had decreased from months to weeks.
Now, we talk in terms of hours from Hongkong to London or New York.
Couldn't happen? History says it could and can and did.
In cases of extreme outbreaks, the last thing I'm worried about is the powers of government. When it's a difference of millions of bodies(which it will be if this turns into the next Spanish Flu), martial law to enforce quarantines is more than justifiable, it's a necessary function of government. Mind you, I would only support it in that kind of an extreme case, but if that case existed, then bring on the troops.
Given general disregard that many people, especially in urban areas, have for government orders when faced with serious outbreaks, these types of measures are sadly needed.
We have to realize that another 1918-style Flu (or something worse we haven't seen yet) would actually likely kill even more people.
A Biohazard that would create death tolls that compare with those of world wars isn't science fiction. It's historical fact. The west isn't prepared for this. The developing world is even less well prepared for this.
If anything we all need to be doing a lot more about these kinds of threats.
I appreciate that one of government's roles is to protect public health, especially in the context wherein individuals afflicted with a serious (say airborne) communicable disease nevertheless act recklessly by engaging in activities exposing innocent bystanders to the malady.
My point was that the President's musings seem like a disproportionate response to an abstract threat. I do appreciate, however, that any variety of influenza can turn into a pandemic--it just seems the President is jumping the gun, probably on account of the public's response to his administration's handling of Katrina.
Okay, that makes more sense. I think we can all agree that martial law should only be implemented in the event of a real outbreak, and that doing it now might be jumping the gun a little ;)
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