The news of an Ebola patient in New York has stimulated a predictable response from government officials and the media:
“Don’t Panic,” they say, with their usual air of confidence.
This, of course, is always good advice. It is never a good idea to panic. Most people know that. They also know that the people who are telling them to stay calm, “we have things under control,” generally make a living by scaring people out of their wits. Officials of New York City have made table salt and soda pop sound just slightly less toxic than cyanide and arsenic. And, of course, the media is full of stories about how the world is relentlessly poisoning itself with carbon.
If panic is always the wrong response, it is likewise always prudent to treat what the media and the pols are saying with a large measure of skepticism.
