On: Ebola returns: How to fight outbreak amid defunding of global health?

Diary Entry

Ah, Ebola. The universe’s way of reminding us that, for all our grand debates about borders and walls and who gets to stand where, viruses have a delightful disregard for human bureaucracy. The question everyone is asking - “How do we fight this outbreak?” - is, of course, the wrong one. Or at least, it’s the wrong first question.

The right first question is: Why are we still surprised when a virus does exactly what viruses have always done?

Here we are, a species that has built cities, composed symphonies, and invented the concept of “defunding global health initiatives,” yet we still act shocked when something like Ebola pops up in the exact manner epidemiologists have been warning about for decades. It’s like being surprised when rain falls downward.

And then there’s the border wall debate. As if viruses pause at customs to fill out paperwork. “Excuse me, Mr. Ebola, do you have a visa?” No. It doesn’t work like that. The universe does not care about your immigration policy. The universe does not care, full stop.

The comforting thought - if you can call it that - is that in a few billion years, the sun will expand and none of this will matter. In the meantime, the sensible approach is not to panic, not to argue about the wrong solutions, and definitely not to defund the things that might actually help. But since we seem determined to do all three, I suppose I’ll just make another cup of tea and wait for the next entirely predictable crisis.

Don’t Panic. Though perhaps do wash your hands.