On September 30th, 2014 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a press release stating that a man in Dallas, Texas had been admitted & diagnosed with the first case of Ebola found in the US. They noted that they had been "anticipating and preparing for a case of Ebola in the United States" (CDC Press Release). The man had traveled from a region affected by the disease on the 19th of the month, began to display symptoms on the 24th, and was hospitalized on the 28th. It was at this point that the US news industry blew up- reporting every detail they could find, verified or not, as fast as they could to stay ahead of the competitor news station. Reports began nationwide from "experts" and news commentators that the United States had a new epidemic on it's hands, that a new crisis on par with the AIDS pandemic of the late 80's was beginning. The US political machine got involved as well- Republicans blaming Democratic initiatives, Democrats blaming Republican initiatives. All of this, while this first man was still fighting for his life in quarantine away from those he should be able to conceivably infect.

Supporters of this so-called "war on Ebola" contend that Ebola infection is growing so quickly in Africa that infection is "inevitable" in the United States & other countries. As a result, they would have us ban flights to the afflicted area to prevent possible carriers from coming and going at will. This plan disregards the need for aid workers to travel to and from the area with necessary medicine and supplies for the areas most at risk and will inevitably lead to the increase of Ebola in the area directly surrounding the one that's sectioned off. Politicos on the left & right both are defending this assault on what they perceive to be a politically neutral enemy, a uniting force for their parties. After all, who could be opposed to helping sick people in poor countries? The problem with this is that their ideas of how to help these sick people are contradictory, counterintuitive, and often ill informed. Think of it this way: of all the national ills facing our country today, is it really feasible to believe how best to aid another country is going to be the one thing both major parties can agree on?
(map depicting the current outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa, courtesy of http://kosmixmedia.com/ebola-outbreak-2014/)

The rush to find a "solution" will only compound the problem of Ebola spreading, but unfortunately it is unlikely to cease in the foreseeable future. Political parties are interested in their polling results- 2014 is a midterm election year, so both sides are blaming key "failures" on the opposing party. In addition to this, this fear has also led to increases in sales of health and safety supplies; hand sanitizer, hand wash, face masks, and gloves are also experiencing booms due to the fear, pumping more money into our economy, a trend that no smart politician (least of all a smart politician in office trying to retain that office) is going to try to stymy. Likewise, the news media industry also has to gain from this hyperreactive coverage- ratings. More people, more afraid, are more willing to watch more news to find out more "information" which, unfortunately, they ultimately have the most sway over. Information is freely available for the average consumer (information being used literally here, actual facts and statistics available through online sources) but they unfortunately must depend on the sources that most benefit from both our time and attention. The news media is ultimately most interested in the needs of the news media, which translates to the needs of it's overseers and financial supporters, the companies selling the supplies Americans today, at this moment, are clamoring to get due to the fear of an imminent threat.


Sources: http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/s930-ebola-confirmed-case.html
http://www.livescience.com/48087-ebola-first-case-diagnosed-us.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/10/ebola_politics_13_ways_democrats_and_republicans_are_exploiting_the_virus.html
http://theweek.com/article/index/269420/the-war-against-ebola-is-much-more-important-than-the-battle-against-isis
http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/12/354626252/ebola-diary-the-grave-diggers-the-mistress-the-man-on-the-porch
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/disinfectants-hand-sanitizers-surge-ebola-fears/295427/