Keep Calm and Carry On

THE BUZZ THESE DAYS is all about flu -- most importantly, how each of us avoids it. So it shouldn't have surprised any of us at my synagogue yesterday when it became the subject of our rabbi's d'var torah, or explication of the current Torah (bible) portion.

Coincidentally -- or, better put, conveniently, if your purpose is to address the current public health crisis -- yesterday's Torah portion (starting with Leviticus 16: 23).

The prescriptions were, at least in the context of religious ritual, meant to purify the souls of the priests, but one cannot escape the sense that it is meant also to cleanse them of any biologically contaminants before reconnecting with the general population. Not just spiritual hygiene but physical as well.

Of course, that's a thin reed upon which to base a discussion about the 2009 H1N1 flu that has been lurking lately, but it will do. And I learned (or relearned) a few interesting things in the discussion, not only from our pretty well-informed rabbi but also from the bumper crop of physicians and public health experts in our congregation:

• washing your hands with soap and water is the most effective way to "purify" yourself of any flu virus you may have touched;
• the now-ubiquitous alcohol-based hand sanitizer products don't kill all the germs, some of which thrive in the alcohol (even so, there were several bottles of it available at doorway to our usual after-service lunch);
• the fastest way to get virus is to touch your eyes -- even the nose and mouth are less vulnerable gateways;
• Jews in 14th century Europe were much less affected by the scourge of Black Plague or Black Death because they lived mostly separately from non-Jewish populations and practiced ritual hand washing; that, in turn, did not save them from virulent anti-Semitism, which presumed the Jews were the ones who introduced the Plague to the rest of the population;
• by virtue of the fact that the U.S. is so big and there are so many of us who travel abroad, we have become a "source country" of this flu, even though it originated and is most severe in Mexico;
• some Roman Catholic churches have suspended communion for fear of spreading disease through the drinking of the wine or other contact;
• rabbis in Israel, where the flu has been reported, have avoided calling it "swine flu," which must be some comfort for the pork producers at a time when they are truly under siege; but, by calling it "Mexico flu," the rabbis have drawn the ire of the Mexican government;
• some churches have suspended routine hugging and handshaking during a "peace be with you" segment of their services and encouraging welcoming smiles or even elbow bumps;
• if there is ever a time to panic, now is not the time.

That's my subject here, panic. It's hard not to feel a little nervous about the reports that this flu is spreading throughout the United States (or anywhere, for that matter), and even in our own community (one high school in my county was closed on Friday because of one case among one its students' families, and I've heard of another even in my own neighborhood).

But what I've heard, too, is that severity of the cases here appears for whatever reason to be much more mild than we've seen in Mexico, and, still, we're talking only about a small percentage of cases given the size of our population.

I'm not saying we should whistle past the graveyard. And, indeed, that's not what appears to be going on. It's impressive to see our public health leaders are watching this closely and issuing calm and concise instructions: mostly, wash your hands, stay home and consult a doctor if you think you have it and exercise proper hygiene (e.g. cover your coughs and sneezes, etc.).That's advice for even less threatening times, so maybe this is a good public health teachable moment.

This episode reminds me a bit of the the October 2002 Washington (or "Beltway") sniper scare, during which 11 people were killed and three seriously wounded by a pair of snipers who shot at random and almost invisibly at random victims. From the first day of the killings to the time the shooters were captured, the entire episode lasted for three weeks, a fact that still surprises me because it felt like months.

Sure, I was a bit worried myself. After all, a couple of the killings took place within about three miles of my house. For example, knowing that at least one of the victims was killed at a gas station while filling up, I remember wondering what I should do when I needed to stop to refuel. Should I "serpentine," as in that hilarious scene in "Catch-22" when the characters are trying to avoid being shot? Or would it matter anyway, if, as it appeared, we were dealing with a skilled shooter?

I decided that the odds of my being a victim were still overwhelmingly in my favor. Not that I should go out and do anything too stupid or vulnerable, but there was no reason to stop refueling my car. Life had to go on, and, when we looked at the threat, it should have.

That's not how a lot of people reacted to it. I remember some people who were deathly afraid, hysterical in some cases, and I remember thinking how counterproductive that was, even if I understood that it was hard for some people to calm down. And, while our schools took pretty extraordinary -- and necessary -- precautions, making the kids virtual prisoners of the school buildings during the day, I worried that this might make the kids even more panicked. The anxiety many were already getting from their parents was being compounded, I thought, by the schools. As far as I can tell anecdotally (local psychologists may see it differently), most of the kids came out of it with their psyches unscathed. I'm not so sure about many of the parents.

I'm not calling for Chuck Yeager-esque stoicism that is unattainable for most of us mortals, or for a casual disregard of a potential threat. But we needn't freak out. Even as that's the careful message most of our public health leaders are giving us -- with the exception of Vice President Joe Biden's comments about not getting on airplanes -- our media seem to be going out of their way to incite us to panic.

As usual, The Daily Show chronicled just how apocalyptic much U.S. media coverage has been in an amusing segment it called "Snoutbreak '09 - The Last 100 Days." "You're the only reason we are freaking out! We were fine," Jon Stewart yelled after a montage of TV news people saying "now, we don't want to freak anybody out..."

Maybe we should look to a sort of campy revival right now in the U.K. of a poster (shown above) that was commissioned by the British Government in 1939 as England lurched into war against Germany. We might snicker at this seemingly banal attempt to calm fears during what was arguably one of Britain's darkest and most frightening hours. But we could benefit from some of the cool and collected tone of the message today. 

Jeff

Comments

[Jimmy Ries]

I assume that for four years, there will be the Biden "cleansers" trying to get him out of his many foot in the mouth statements.....

[sue preziotti]

LOVE the campy revival of the uk poster!! As far as swine flu, having followed it more closely for client Tamiflu than i ever might have imagined, I'd have to say the public health and other officials in US did a good job of bringing the flu threat to our attention. The media like CNN certainly brought it to a whole new level, but really, it was a little scary given how quickly it had already been spreading and the uncertainty of its impact on an individual. I might add that, although the new H1N1 is similar to the "regular seasonal" strain, that just means that we wont all be dropping like flies. However, because it can spread so quickly (we have no immunity), a lot more people could get it, and especially those who already have underlying health issues, could become very ill and even die. that's why we need to worry about it, and i think the govt handled in well. my 2 cents.