The hysteria surrounding the Ebola virus that the media has developed has led this country to lose sight of its basic freedoms and rights.
At this point I am sure most of you are sick of hearing about Ebola, and in this department I cannot disagree with you. The overwhelming sense of fear that news agencies are pushing has gone too far. We are left to cipher through stories to determine which are factual and relevant to our current situation in the U.S.
Rather than focusing on the struggles of the epidemic in West Africa, and narrowing our efforts to treat the source of the problem, we have made this story all about us. If we really want to stop Ebola, then we must keep sending brave doctors and nurses to fight this disease where it is worst.
With this in mind, it astonishes me how many times I have heard the phrase, “we shouldn’t let anyone go there or come back from there.” This proposed travel ban is one made out of senseless fear and impulse emotions.
Everyone in this country wants to stop Ebola, then why would we prevent our best doctors, scientists, and nurses from traveling to the countries where the outbreak is occuring? Without stopping the source of the epidemic, the disease will continue to spread.
To the supporters of a travel ban, I ask, where do you draw the line? Spain and several other countries in Africa have already reported suspected cases of Ebola. If you are going to stop all travel from West Africa, what about all the other countries that this disease could and maybe already has spread to?
Continuing on the idea of a travel ban, what about the doctors and nurses that are risking their lives to save others and stop this disease? Do we simply tell them to stay in West Africa until we consider the disease to be under control?
If you are going to stop all travel to and from countries with reported cases of Ebola, what about other disease that are much more contagious than Ebola? Will we stop people with HIV, hepatitis C, or tuberculosis from traveling?
As you can see, this travel ban is much more complex than stopping people with Ebola from getting on a plane. Considering the fact that someone could travel to another country in Europe or South America and spread the disease there, it is essentially impossible to enact a travel ban. Every country could potentially be on that ban sometime in the future if we think about the possibility of its spread.
Along with this travel ban, the idea of a forced quarantine has made news headlines around the country as nurse Kaci Hickox in Maine has refused the forced quarantine imposed by the state. Hickox recently returned from Sierra Leone treating Ebola patients.
She returned to the United States, and airport officials recorded a fever. She was then brought to a hospital where her temperature was again checked showing no signs of a fever. She was also tested for Ebola twice, and both times tested negative.
Although the nurse currently shows no signs or symptoms of the disease, the government of Maine has been seeking to put her under a forced quarantine. Once again, we see the nation’s fear over something they don’t understand overcome their beliefs and freedoms.
Hickox fought the forced quarantine and won in court.
Why are the people who are bravely fighting this disease, treated like they did something wrong? We should be praising these healthcare professionals rather than stripping them of their basic rights and freedoms.
Being someone who has seen this disease first hand, Hickox understands the fear surrounding the disease and the nature of it that makes it so terrifying.
Hickox has also been compliant with other rules that limit her to her small hometown of Kent and no public transportation.
Hickox explains, “I’m fighting for something much more than myself. There are so many aid workers coming back. It scares me to think how they’re going to be treated and how they’re going to feel.”
She proclaims that the Constitution and science are on her side. In this matter, she is absolutely correct.
It is time for us to look past our fears and the mass hysteria that surrounds this virus, and focus on the freedoms and beliefs that this country was built on.
Instead of discouraging travel to and from West Africa, we should be encouraging it to stop this disease in Africa and save the lives there that are otherwise helpless.
Zach Heppner
Viewpoints Editor