Sound The Alarm, Softly

Very rarely but, thankfully, it does happen every once in a while, beautiful orchestra music by dance bands was playing in the cafe when I arrived there, instead of pop or disco variety. The kind that makes you feel like dancing to and, in the case of not possible or practical, swaying to while still sitting at your table, hot coffee in hand, and trying not to spill it all over yourself. Or tap your feet under the table, or hum softly the wordless tunes (I can't whistle you see). It was soothing my recent troubled mind and, after a while, I felt none of my problems was as grave as I had imagined.

The news spread out on the paper on my table though, is counteracting, irritating in fact. Pages and pages of all sorts of alarms, easily grouped into 2 main categories: that of sanitary about Swine Flu, all variety of other flu and infectious diseases; and that of the multimedia information. Too much of both for anybody to take in let alone to benefit from. If you are not confused before about either, now you are, about both.

The alarm of the former, that of the sanitary and, basing on much studied protocol, are or should be operated in the related fields responsible for sanitary issues, as consequences of the extraordinary advances in all aspects of health. It awakes people's knowledge of the disease and learn how to deal with it if one is already sick, and how to prevent it when one is not.

The alarms of the latter, the over abundance of information, sometimes even conflicting, and from all quarters of the media, are quite a different matter. Compare with those of sanitary info, it mostly extends and serves to raise panic, not to avoid it. They forecast what is not yet known, presenting what is a mere foresight as a desperate present situation not yet exist. Many of the healthy and up till now fairly happy people are at the moment worrying themselves sick! What good does this kind of info. do? So that they hope to be able to say one day: "I told you so!" ?

 

Tags:information,alarm

Current Mood: Confused