I am Beginning Consider "Comitting a Gaffe" Laudable

I applaud the Vice President’s candor recently with regard to the swine flu. He said that right now he would advise his family to avoid planes and trains and any tight spaces. I am sure the airline and rail industries were not happy, but they are not the Vice President’s first obligation. His first obligation is to protect the health and safety of Americans. Lest one think that we have completely entered a new era of openness and responsibility in Washington, the attempted corrective spin on the part of president Obama’s press secretary was beneath comical. Robert Gibbs’ attempt to make things “right” (i.e. politically correct) was so pathetic that it elicited laughter from the otherwise Obama-phile press corps. They were not laughing with him. They were laughing AT him. You can see the video here: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/04/30/gibbs_on_what_biden_meant_to_say.html

This reinforces the issue I raised in an earlier post. Just how responsible should our government be when it comes to protecting the lives of our citizens? We cannot just shut down the society, especially at this point. Restricting trade and travel right now is not warranted. However, the population should know the risks and decide for itself. The key is the authorities providing accurate and complete information. Accurate and complete information should not be held back just to avoid a “panic” or to avoid dampening the economy. Staying out of airplanes or trains is not a panic. That is a conscious, measured decision that one makes based on what is best for that person and his or her family. Our government owes the common person honesty. We can decide for ourselves what risks we want to take with our own personal lives.

Hospitals are seeing up to a 50% increase in emergency room visits by people who are afraid they have swine flu. Is that not a good thing? Does increased overall vigilance make it more likely that we will be able to contain the problem and avoid a pandemic?